Empire
by pastel daisies
Summary: Being Uchiha Sakura isn't all it's cracked up to be. SasuSaku. Rated M for light lemon(s), some lime and dark images. SasuSaku.
1. I

**STORY COVER COMMEMORATION: **_A beautiful drawing done by 'nami64' on DeviantART (I am now posting the links to the artwork on my profile__)_

**Author's Note:** This will be a multi-chapter, and longer version of a story, so if you reach the end of a chapter, and there are no more posted, it isn't the end, I probably just haven't updated it yet.

Of course, I don't own any of Kishimoto's work on Naruto, nor do I own any of the names, circumstances, blah. I have tried to stick close to the story line of Kishimoto's work, wish a few changes, and some add ons, such as the inclusion of some American items, personality changes, and future events. I tried my best to keep Sasuke as close to his personality as I could, but of course, he probably strays off that path a lot, so yeah, don't flame that. Also, I advise that if you don't like lemon, don't read this, or you can skip the scenes. The actual scenes are not graphic, and don't go far with descriptions, so it's not heavy. This story is not intended to be lemon-centered, because Sasuke and Sakura are married, of course there will be instances for the "clan revival". And as a lover of the pairing, I apologize if I do get a bit carried away with their .. couplings. Oh my.

Also, the story may seem to flip flop around from graphic nightmares to a regular day, but that's how it's intended. So.

Okay, yeah, enough of the author's blarg, on to the story.

* * *

_Take off all of your skin_  
_I'm brave when you are free_  
_Shake off all of your sins_  
_And give them to me_  
_Close up, let me back in_  
_I wanna be yours, wanna be your hero_  
_And my heart beats_

* * *

**• EMPIRE •**

* * *

_The woman looked around her, instantly sickened at the sight. Two bodies were sprawled in front of her, a mass of kunai spilling out of their backs. Another, she noted from the other side, was still alive, his arm moving very slowly, dried blood coated lips opening as if to form sounds. Instantly, Sakura recognized the blood coated, blonde hair, even under the mass of cuts and blood on the young man's face. She let out a scream. _

_"NARUTO!" She tried to run over to him, but her legs refused to cooperate with her. She swallowed the saliva in her mouth, and was surprised to taste the metallic liquid of blood. She finally was able to raise a hand up, and touched the cupids bow under her nose gingerly. She pulled her fingers away, and stared at the bright, red liquid. _

_In the air was a deep, smokey smell. It was as if someone had set off a forest fire that she had been used to experiencing in Konaha in the hot summers. _

_Then she heard the birds. _

_She shook her head. No, they weren't really birds. She was instantly shoved against the nearest tree, her head snapping back to collide forcefully with the trunk. Her eyes watered, but she turned her head to see her blonde haired teammate on the ground, still trying to form words, trying to move, to get up. _

_"N-Naruto.." She forced out, before a large hand enclosed itself around her neck, not tight enough to restrict her airways, but it was getting there. _

_She didn't want to turn her eyes to meet the face of the attacker, because she already knew who it was. But nevertheless, her head turned itself, slowly and painfully to meet obsidian, cold eyes. Through her half-lidded gaze, she could tell that his lips were moving, that he was talking to her, but her ears were still ringing, omitting a low humming sound from being thrown against the tree. She licked her lips and willed herself to clear her mind, to try to listen to him. Finally, the ringing diminished, leaving a dull, throbbing pain in her head and neck. _

_"So weak." The captor spat at her, his eyes changing from black, to red. His Sharingan, Sakura thought. She coughed, sending a small spray of blood drops onto his pale, exposed neck. He smirked darkly. _

_"You are nothing to me." Her chin tilted upwards, and she let out a small mewl of pain. Cold metal cut into her neck, and she closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see his katana against her skin again. _

_She heard the birds again. If she could look down, she would see that his other hand was filled with the bright light of his Chidori, and that it would be over soon. _

_"Weak." He said once more, his tone flat, almost bored. _

_It wasn't until he shoved the Chidori into her heart that Sakura finally willed herself to let out a scream. _

* * *

She sat up in her bed, her chest heaving sweat and tears pouring down her face and hitting her night gown. Her hand reached out to cover her heart, where he had driven the Chidori into in her dream. She willed herself to calm her breathing, her other hand wiping away the tears that had poured down her face. She looked to her left at the nightstand, squinting at the clock. It was 2 am. As usual.

Sakura took a deep breath once more, and turned to her right, looking at the empty side of the large bed next to her. She felt better instantly, seeing that there was no one inhabiting the sheets. She pushed herself to the edge of the bed, pushing away the covers, and placed her feet on the ground quietly. Her hands pulled away her mass of pink hair from her sticky neck and she fanned herself.

"What a nightmare.." She trailed of softly, and stood up, willing her wobbly legs to push herself towards the bathroom.

She stripped herself of the sweaty material and stepped into the shower, blasting the cold water. She was instantly awake, and ready to control herself.

Haruno Sakura couldn't remember how long it had been since she had slept through an entire night. For months, she had been plagued with similar nightmares, all ending in the same way, all with her getting killed. By her husband.

She exhaled and pressed her forehead against the cool tile wall of the shower. She closed her eyes.

After finally abandoning his plight for revenge, and helping the Hidden Leaf village fight Madara alongside Naruto and Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke returned to his hometown. Of course, the Hokage was not quick to let him off the hook so easily. He was subjected to various psychological tests, interventions and questionings held by ANBU's finest. And after about three years of questioning, Tsunade finally deemed Uchiha Sasuke ready to return to a life of normalcy. Provided that he start over his ninja training from Genin once more. In less than a year, he had been promoted up to Jounin, and was ready to take the ANBU exam.

Sakura let a small smile come to her lips, feeling the cold water fall down her back and legs.

At first, the return of Sasuke to Konaha had been everything she had dreamed, Team 7 was finally reunited, and Sasuke was home, and home without revenge. But as the three of them grew older, she began seeing less and less of Sasuke, and later Naruto. The blonde man had taken a liking to spending his days courting Hyuuga Hinata and going through his training to be the future Hokage, successor of Tsunade.

Sasuke, on the other hand had dissipated almost completely from Sakura's life. If he wasn't being questioned, he was in a meeting with the council and Hokage, or taking his numerous tests to move up the ranks, or training, or keeping to himself. And Sakura, well, after surpassing her mentor in brute strength and skill, Tsunade had no other option than to name her head surgeon and medic of Konaha's hospital and to place her on the entrance list for the ANBU exam.

When Sakura was eighteen, she had passed the ANBU exam, and was given recognition of her achievements. Thanks to Tsunade's commands, Sakura was able to remain as head medic at the hospital (the job she preferred the most), but was an ANBU that the council would only call on in dire situations.

But one year from then, she was suddenly flurried into a mass of wedding plans, invites and finally the big day. She was twenty, and now Uchiha Sakura, every girl's dream. But Sakura did not feel the extent of that happiness. Of course, she smiled pleasantly for the wedding photos, ignoring the obvious lack of expression on her cold husband's face. She was happy.

Right?

Sakura let out another breath and turned off the shower. She stepped out, wrapping herself in her bathrobe and stood in front of the bathroom mirror. She bent over the sink and looked at her eyes, seeing the faint hint of dark circles under her usually bright, emerald orbs. Seeing that she really had nothing else to do, and was already awake, she began making faces in the mirror, giggling, as her fingers pulled at the skin around her mouth. She laughed out loud, and stared at the rest of her appearance.

She had began to grow out her hair again. It wasn't as long as when she was younger, but it was just touching her shoulder blades. At first, she had wanted to keep it short out of necessity, and easy grooming for missions, but Sasuke had objected.

_"It looks nice long." He had deadpanned one morning while they were sharing the large bathroom. She had snuck a look at him, and dropped the piece of hair she was holding to keep out of her eyes. He leaned forward over the sink, resuming his shaving, as if he had never spoken, and Sakura turned back away from him, and nodded. _

Sakura looked at her hollowed shoulder blades poking through the thin bathrobe. She wasn't skinny, she was of normal weight and height, with normal proportions. She untied her bathrobe, and let it fall to the floor, as she turned to her side in the mirror, inspecting her thighs, arms, and then her stomach.

Ninja training kept kunoichi's with flat, muscled stomachs and abs, which was a plus, but right now, Sakura kind of wished she had a small rounded belly.

She placed a hand on her lower stomach, looking at herself in the mirror, before taking in a breath and pushing her stomach out as far it could go. She giggled, and smiled, imagining what it would be like to carry a child. Because she was now wife to Sasuke, she was of course expected to begin the process of the Uchiha clan's revival, so the use of contraceptives was not necessary. And honestly, Sakura wanted to be a mother. She didn't think she was too young, and taking time off work wouldn't be hard, Tsunade-shishou understood her situation, and would happily give her work leave. It seemed that the entire process of the Uchiha clan coming back was all up to her. Sakura huffed.

How stressful.

Suddenly, there was a muffled creak from the main entrance to the Uchiha compound, and the door slammed. Sakura's eyes widened, and her hand dropped from her stomach. She bent hurriedly to pick up her robe, wrapping it around her. She fixed her hair quickly in the mirror and hurried out of the bathroom and down the long hallway to the kitchen, where her husband was sat, waiting at the table.

"Gomen, Sasuke, I didn't think you'd be home for another day, Naruto said it was a five day mission." She gave him a small smile, and rubbed the back of her neck in a Naruto-like manner. She had stopped using the -kun suffix quite some time ago. At the beginning, it had felt weird, but now, she was happy to rid herself of it.

"Hn."

Sasuke pulled off his gloves and placed them on the table, his hands reaching for the zipper of his vest to undo it. Sakura stole a look at her husband, seeing he wasn't battered, and only had a few scratches on his face and hands. She walked over to him, her hand cupping his cheek as she healed up his scratches. He didn't meet her eyes, and continued to pull off his vest, and then reached up to untie his headband, but Sakura's hands pushed his away. He frowned.

"Ne, Sasuke, let me do it, you must be tired." She untied the headband and pulled it off gently, and placed it on his gloves. She stepped back from her husband and turned away from him, her hands reaching for the tea pot on the counter.

"Would you like some tea, or are you going to sleep?" She pulled out two cups and reached for the tea jar, knowing whatever his answer, she was going to sit down here and drink some tea anyways. He made a small noise, and she heard him stand up.

"Tea. I'm going to shower." She heard him turn away from her and head towards the hallway. She nodded, as if he could see it, and put some hot water on to boil. From her place at the counter, she could hear the water running in the bathroom, and the door close. She placed the cups and spoons ready on the counter next to the teapot and headed towards the bathroom, opening the door. She saw the silhouette of her husbands figure in the shower amongst the mass of steam. She blushed and bent down to pick up his stray articles of clothing.

She wasn't a silly teenager anymore, but somehow, the sight of her husband's body still made her blush. He was, of course, very handsome. She smiled and placed the clothes in the hamper and reached for a towel on the rack, laying it over the counter for him. She closed the door to the bathroom again, and headed into their bedroom. She supposed that once long ago, it had been his parents, based on the grandeur and largeness of the bed and area. She carefully straightened the sheets and pillows and cleaned up.

She had begun humming a tune that her mother used to sing to her when she was little, and had not heard the shower turn off, or the bathroom door open. She turned around to leave the bedroom, and saw him standing right in front of her, his eyes boring into hers. She let out a small noise, taking a step back away from him, and placed a hand to her chest.

"Ne, Sasuke... you scared me." She gave him another small smile, pushing her thoughts back. She tried not to think of the dream she had had. How he had shoved his Chidori through her, and ended it.

"Aa." He turned away from her, his hand clutched to the towel wrapped around his waist. Sakura caught a glance of his toned muscles, and blushed again, she placed her hands behind her back, and turned towards the door once more, hearing the tea pot whistle with steam.

"I guess I'll go serve the tea then-" She turned to him once more, and was cut off at his stark nakedness. His towel lay, a forgotten pool of material, at his feet. He was turned away from her, rummaging through his drawers to find clothes. Her eyes traveled to his buttocks, before she blushed deep red and hurriedly dissapeared from the bedroom and into the kitchen.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and leaned against the counter. Che, she was a lucky wife to have such a sexy husband. Too bad he was so cold. She shrugged to herself and poured out the hot water, and mixed in the tea leaves into the steeper. She poured out two cups of tea, and laid them on the table, just as Sasuke appeared in the doorway, newly dressed in dark pants and a white shirt. She picked up his gloves and gear, eager to avoid his eyes and placed them on the coffee table. She sat down opposite him and took a cup, holding it to her nose.

She breathed in the sweet, chai scent, and closed her eyes happily. She took a sip, and opened them once more, looking at her husband as he took a sip of the tea himself. He looked at her, and she bit her lip, not sure what to say.

"How..er, how was the mission?" She forced out, and took another sip of the tea, looking out the window into the early morning darkness.

"Fine." He answered quickly, and looked towards the calendar she had hung up on the kitchen wall. He stared at the two small x's she had placed on two different dates this month, his brow furrowing, wondering what they meant. They were about five days apart. The last x was two days ago. That was one of the days that he had rolled over one night, intent on .. said things, and she had said no. He frowned.

"What are your plans for later today? It is, like 3 am in the morning." She giggled, and looked back at him, nightmares and awkward situations forgotten. He huffed, and finished his tea.

"We have a meeting with the council for the missions' status." He placed down the cup and folded his arms.

"Ah, right. That makes sense." She finished her own and stood up, offering him another cup. He shook his head, and she poured herself another, leaning forward against the counter, peering out the window.

"I think I might go and see how Hinata is doing later. I'm sure she has a lot to tell me about her and Naruto." Sakura smiled, and took another sip of her tea. She hadn't seen her second best friend in what seemed like eternity, but it was really a couple of months. Sakura had been busy with hospital work, and Hinata devoted her time to helping Naruto train, and her own fighting. Sakura smiled, hoping to get some quality time in with her friend tomorrow. Suddenly, Sasuke was behind her, his body inches from hers. She opened her mouth, letting only air out, a small blush forming on her cheeks.

His lean arm passed her face, reaching out to place his cup in the sink. As soon as he did, he pulled away from her, and stood, leaning against the table, watching his wife. Though he'd never admit it, he had a perfect view of her body through the thin material of her robe. His eyes strayed down her shoulders, past her hair and curved back to her well defined ass. He felt the pit of his stomach heat up, and he looked away.

"Hn. I'm going to bed." He headed out the kitchen and towards the bedroom, not really intending to get any sleep just yet.

"I'll be there in a second." Sakura responded gently, and placed her own empty cup in the sink. She cleaned up the counter, and turned off the kitchen light, while straightening the chairs. She headed down the hallway, taking her time, and entered the bedroom. The door shut behind her, and she turned to look at her husband. Her heartbeat quickened, her thoughts flowering back to all of those nightmares. Was he going to-

He headed over towards the bed and pulled his shirt over his head in one fluid motion, chucking it on the futon in the corner of the room. Sakura calmed her breathing, and rid herself of any thoughts, and went to get into the bed when she stopped.

_Oh, I'm only wearing my robe._ A small tinge of red came to her cheeks, and she swallowed, heading over to her dresser to find another nightgown to throw on. But as she opened the drawer, ready to pull out the first piece of material she saw, a hand came out from behind her and closed the drawer in one fluid motion. She swallowed, and turned to face Sasuke, and found herself backed up against the chest of drawers.

His cool breath fanned across her cheeks, and his obsidian eyes stared into hers. Though she knew there was no love in them, she could tell there was lust. Her heartbeat quickened once more, ready to see his Sharingan activated, to feel the cold metal of his katana against her throat, but instead, she found a pair of warm lips placed on her own.

It wasn't a deep kiss, he had never been good at things like that, so it was a simple, chaste kiss. It let her know what he was thinking, even if for a moment. She felt the usual heat come to her abdomen and between her legs as her eyes shifted down his well defined chest. She felt the tie on her robe tugged undone, and the material slip off her shoulders and to the floor, leaving her naked to his eyes. She hooked her arms around his neck, as he lifted her quickly off the ground, throwing her on the bed.

Their..lovemaking, as Sakura called it sometimes, was never the fireworks and unification she had read or heard about. Ino had told her that with Shikamaru, it was fireworks, fuzzy sight, and tingling toes. Tenten confided that Neji was a screamer, but theirs was heated and rough. Sakura had read (embarrassingly, in those stupid teenage girl magazines) that it would leave the two people breathing heavily, and other sounds would leave their mouths, and that the perfect intimacy and _foreplay_ (she blushed at this word, twenty or not) was a storm of kissing and touching.

But with Sasuke, there was no touching, it was minimal. Usually, Sakura was left to hook her arms (and sometimes legs) around him, sometimes to dig her nails into his back, and Sasuke merely held her in position with one hand around her waist, or on her thigh, the other hand was always balancing himself on the mattress as he thrusted into her.

The kissing was one-sided. Sasuke initiated it with a small chaste kiss to her lips, but for the rest of the time, Sakura was the only one, placing butterfly kisses into his neck and shoulder, and she knew that usually he ignored it.

And as for the screaming, well.. there was no coupled moans, names called, none of that. Just Sasuke's grunting and panting, and Sakura's small mewls at the end. And after his release and her final finish, he pulled away from her and turned his back to her. Sakura would lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling, trying to calm her breathing. She would then pull the covers up around her, turn on her side, away from him, and slowly fall asleep.

Sometimes, she would have the guts to utter the three words she had been using since they were thirteen, and sometimes she didn't. Tonight, she thought, she would say it, because it had been a while since she had.

"I love you." She murmured and closed her eyes, not really caring if he was still awake or had heard it or not.


	2. II

_This time, when she opened her eyes, there was no sign of a struggle, no blood shed, no bodies, no sign of attacks. She sighed and looked over the edge of the cliff she was standing on, down into the shimmering water below. She intook a breath at how pretty the water looked.. how pure. If only she could just.._

_She took a step towards the edge of the cliff, fully intending to walk off of it and into the water below, but a hand gripped the back of her shirt, and shoved her to the ground. She bounded onto a pile of rocks, whimpering at the jabbing stones in her back and looked up at the shadow of a man looming over her. The katana at his hip and his notorious hairstyle already told her who it was. Sasuke's Sharingan eyes lit up the darkness, and he smirked, his eyes never leaving Sakura's face. _

_"Trying to escape again?" He jibed darkly at her, bending down to pull her up to face him by the front of her shirt. She gripped onto his arm, trying to let herself go, but he held on tightly, his smirk growing larger. _

_"So how much do I care for you now..Sakura?" He deadpanned, his free hand moving to pull out his sword. He aligned the blade so that it rested on his knuckles, against Sakura's neck. She felt the cold steel once more, and again struggled to free herself from Sasuke's grasp, but she couldn't move. _

_"P-please.." She whimpered, but he laughed shortly. _

_"Too late." _

_The last thing she heard was a flow of liquid and the snap of bone. This time she couldn't scream. _

* * *

Sakura shot up from the bed, breathing heavily once more. This time, she had not uttered a noise to wake herself up. And it was a good thing, because Sasuke was beside her, lying still in the bed, and probably still asleep. She swallowed heavily and pulled the sheets up around her to cover her nakedness. She pulled her knees up to rest her chin on and closed her eyes, thanking that the sheets were cool so that she could cool her face. She wiped a small dab of sweat off her cheek, and then under her eyes. She had cried a few tears this time, but it wasn't many.

She peered from her side of the bed over Sasuke's body and out of the curtain covered window. She could see a hint of sunlight in the distance, and her alarm clock said it was about 6:30 in the morning. She bit her lip, and realized she was still a bit tired. She resumed her position, this time turning on her side to face Sasuke's back, watching his shoulders move with his calm breathing. She let a ghost of a smile grace her lips as she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

* * *

This time, when Sakura awoke, it was calmly, without any nightmares, and the sun was shining through the curtains. She yawned, and stretched in a cat-like manner. She sat up, looking to her right, and realized that Sasuke had already left for his meeting. She rolled over and stood up, stretching once more, before reaching down to pick up her bathrobe that had been previously discarded. She blushed remembering said event, and tied her robe. She made the bed, and hurried into the bathroom to get washed up and ready for the day.

After making a list of food items she should get, she decided to pay a visit to Hinata's, stop into work and then do the groceries on the way home. She pulled her hair up into a bun and put on a pale lipstick and left the Uchiha compound. It was a warm summer day today, so Sakura decided that she was going to wear a light tanktop instead of her thick, cotton gear.

She stopped outside of the Hyuuga compound and knocked lightly on the heavy door. It creaked open and a pair of arms flung themselves around her neck.

"Sak! Where have you been, I feel like we haven't talked to you in months!" Tenten screamed happily, and Sakura laughed, returning her eager hug. She pulled away from the brunette, ignoring that the girl was only clad in a sweatshirt (probably Neji's) and shorts.

"Same to you, Mrs. Future Hyuuga." Sakura teased, pointing at the engagement ring on Tenten's finger. The girl blushed, laughed, and pulled Sakura into the house, dragging her into the kitchen.

"Well... Mrs. _Uchiha_, you caught us just on time! Neji is getting ready to leave for a mission, and Hinata isn't out with Naruto until later." Sakura looked in the doorway for her second best friend and ran up to her. The two embraced happily and the purple haired woman kissed Sakura's cheek sisterly.

"God, Sakura, it's been _ages_." Hinata said smiling warmly. She poured Neji out a cup of coffee and stood by the counter, drinking her own cup of tea. Tenten plopped down next to her fiance on a barstool, and kissed his cheek loudly. Neji smirked and smiled at Sakura, nodding warmly.

"Good morning, Uchiha-san." He winked and continued to sip his coffee. Sakura blushed and put her hands behind her back.

"Morning, Neji. But really, we've been friends for years, call me Sakura." She winked back and leaned on the counter next to Hinata. The four sat in happy silence, until Neji finished his coffee, and looked at the clock. He placed his cup in the sink and stood up, stretching his arms over his head.

"Well I'd better get going. I'll see you tonight, Hinata. And bye, darling. Nice to see you too, Sakura." He kissed his cousin's cheek and walked over to Tenten, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, placing a long kiss on her lips and then her forehead. She giggled, and smacked his behind as he walked past, earning a small grunt from Neji. Sakura watched the two, and couldn't help but feel a tad jealous at their loving actions towards each other. What she wouldn't give to have Sasuke treat her like that. As soon as the door shut behind him, Tenten stood up, munching on an orange. She shrugged at the two women in front of her.

"I'm gonna get a shower and head out to train with Lee. You two catch up, okay? And Sakura, I better be getting some more phone calls from you soon." She winked at the pinkette and disappeared down the hallway.

Hinata turned to Sakura, her calm eyes dancing. "Okay, so who tells who what first?" Sakura giggled, and took Neji's seat on the barstool. She tapped her chin and shrugged, pointing at Hinata.

"I _really _would like to hear about this romantic relationship between you and Naruto." Hinata blushed deep red and twiddled her fingers.

"Well I mean, ever since he asked me out about a year ago, we've been doing just about everything together. And I'm happy, Sakura, I really am. Naruto wants to take it slow, and I understand completely, he has a lot of training to do, so he's under some stress. Anyways, we've been doing a lot of missions, going to Ichiraku's, he took me out for a picnic, and he bought me roses..."

Hinata stopped herself from going any further into the details of the blonde's romantic ways, seeing that Sakura was just looking at her, smiling softly. Hinata held a hand over her mouth and looked at her friend apologetically. But Sakura smiled, motioning that she continue. Hinata pulled her hand away from her lips.

"S-Sakura, are you sure-"

"Of course. I am so happy you're telling me about your own happiness, Hinata. I love hearing about Naruto's romantic ways." Sakura smiled at her friend, and she was being sincere. She did love to hear about all of Naruto's little romantic tricks, and she loved seeing her friend happy, but.. it did hurt her deep down. She never got to have such a relationship with Sasuke before she married him. Sakura swallowed and bid Hinata to continue. She did, and after a while, the two were giggling wildy, and Hinata was holding a hand to her mouth once more.

"I swear he does, Sakura! When we were training one day, we took a break, and I was folding his things and a box fell out of his jacket! I was sort of curious, so I opened it, and it was a ring! Like an engagement ring! It was so beautiful and I know that he wants to continue to take things slow, he must just be waiting for the right time."

Sakura looked at her beaming friend. Hinata was practically glowing as she spoke of said memory, her cheeks glazed over pink, her eyes gleaming. Sakura smiled sadly at her friend, and nodded at her words. No matter what, she wouldn't show what she really felt, and that was jealousy. After a while, the two became silent, as Hinata ran out of things to tell her friend. She looked at Sakura, realizing that her marriage to Sasuke had taken some of the light out of Sakura's bright green eyes. It was as if Sakura spent her time wishing more than experiencing. She placed her hand over Sakura's, making the pink haired woman meet her eyes.

"So what about you? How is Sasuke? Is everything going okay?" Hinata smiled gently at her friend, who returned the smile.

"He's good. He's always off on missions, or training, but when he's home, he always likes to sit down and enjoy the silence. We like to sit outside on the back porch for an hour before the sun goes down, and I usually work on my research and work while he reads a scroll. It's... it's nice. Tranquil. I only wish that-", she hesitated, licking her lips, as she thought of the right words, "that he would open up to me a bit more, as his wife. I know Sasuke is a naturally quiet person, but he barely forms a sentence when I ask him something, let alone a full conversation. I just want the warmth of his companionship."

Sakura laughed, embarrassed by her words. She rubbed her arm, and shrugged. "It must sound stupid, I guess because you and Naruto can open up to each other about anything."

Hinata gripped her friend's arms and pulled her into a strong hug. "Oh, Sakura, it's not stupid. It's Sasuke, he's a man of ice, you know. But I bet, once you're carrying a child, he'll be all over you. I know, deep down in that abyss of a heart, there's caring for you. He loves you, I know it."

Sakura laughed, not realizing that she was getting tears on her friend's shirt. She pulled away, wiping her eyes and kissed Hinata's cheek.

"You're amazing, Hinata. I wish I could stay longer and take your advice all day." The two laughed, and Hinata walked Sakura towards the door, realizing she'd kept her friend for two hours. She hugged Sakura tight once more, wishing for her happiness.

"Be well, Sakura. Everything will work out in the end. Sasuke cares for you deeply. Believe it!" Sakura laughed at her friends words, wanting to make a joke about the mirror to Naruto's words of wisdom. She smiled and left the Hyuuga compound with promises of calling Hinata more often. And she planned to keep this promise.

* * *

After leaving the Hyuuga's, Sakura headed towards the hospital, passing by the small stores as she did. She giggled, placing her hands behind her back, watching the passerby's. Many acknowledged her, recognizing her pink hair and of course her new title as Mrs. Uchiha. She received their greetings warmly, and smiled at the small children around the stores. There were times when she realized that she really wanted to be a mother. She sighed to herself. This was one of those times.

She headed into the lobby of the hospital, feeling the cool air hit her face. She walked up to the desk, smiling at the woman named Hana as she did.

"Haruno-san! I-I thought this was your day off! Is everything okay?" Sakura laughed at the flustered woman and held up a hand to steady her.

"Everything is fine, I'm just here to pick up some of my research notes so I can work on them at home. And, I thought I might make sure there isn't anything I can help out with." Hana nodded, bowed at Sakura and took her seat once more. Sakura strolled past the desk and towards the stairway, heading up to the third floor, where her office was located. She greeted everyone happily as she passed by, and headed into her office. She headed towards her filing cabinet and opened it, searching through the semi-organized files and paperwork.

"S-Sakura-san! Isn't it your day off?" Sakura smiled, recognizing the woman's voice, and stood up, with a bunch of papers in her hand, to face her friend, Shizune.

"Yes, but I thought I might take home some work, for another time. Is there anything I can do while I'm here?"

Shizune shrugged, adjusting Tonton, the small pig in her arms. She smiled back at Sakura and bowed. "Not that I know of Sakura-san. It's been a lazy day here and for council, even Tsunade has taken a two hour nap. In fact I bet she's in her office now, drinking sake to pass the time. Ah, you know Tsunade. Well I should be going, I have to run some errands. See you tomorrow?" Sakura smiled at her dear friend, nodding. She walked past her and pulled the door shut to her office, whilst organizing the papers in her hands into a neat stack. She escourted Shizune down to the lobby and the two exited the hospital together, parting ways. Sakura looked up at the sky, seeing that the sun had gotten lower.

"Must be about 4 o'clock. I guess I should do some food shopping and get home to make some dinner." Sakura, turned and headed towards the market place, her hand grasping the small list of items in her pocket.

* * *

When she finally arrived home to the compound thirty minutes later, Sasuke was already home and waiting for her. She opened the door, balancing her papers and bags in her arms, and kicked the door shut behind her. She whistled a tune out as she walked into the kitchen and dumped her bags on the table. She huffed, pushing stray hairs out of her eyes and headed into the office area to dump her papers and keys on her desk. She straightened her shirt and walked back towards the kitchen. As she did, she passed the living room, and peaked in to see Sasuke sat on the couch, reading a scroll.

He looked like he was thoroughly concentrating on the information, but Sakura couldn't help herself from giving his shoulder a light squeeze and kissing his cheek. He jumped slightly, but continued to read his scroll.

"Aa."

Was that a hint of red on the tops of his ears? Sakura decided not to dwell on it, but peered over his shoulder, reading the scroll. Hm.. fire style techniques, eh? She shrugged, and stood in the doorway to the living room, her back to Sasuke.

"Pasta or rice for dinner?" She called over her shoulder. She headed back into the kitchen and began to unpack the bags of food, placing the items in the correct place. She heard his curt answer from the living room, and she nodded to herself.

"Pasta."

"Got it." She said out loud, to no one in particular, and opened the fridge, bending down to place the milk on the right shelf. She stood back up, unpacked the rest of the bags and threw them in the cupboard. As she turned back around, she almost ran into Sasuke, who had emerged from the living room and was leaning against the counter munching on a newly brought tomato. Sakura giggled, and grabbed two more from the bowl, and washed them in the sink, and got out the chopping board. She continued to sing as she prepared the meal, and even started to put a little dance to it as she stood by the stove, stirring the pasta.

"Hn." She jumped a little bit, but continuing her singing. She hadn't realized Sasuke was still in the kitchen. She would have thought that he would return to the living room to finish reading. Her cheeks felt hot as she could feel his gaze on her back, and her backside. She bit her lip and calmed her blushing, before turning around to strain the pasta in the sink. When she was done, she placed down two dishes of delicacy in front of herself and Sasuke's seating place on the table. She turned back around to get the cutlery, but Sasuke's hand on her arm stopped her. He didn't meet her confused glance.

"I'll get it." He said and headed over to the drawer. Sakura shrugged and sat down, licking her lips, realizing her stomach was growling. She thanked Sasuke as he placed down a pair of chopsticks before her and took his own seat. The two exchanged the words of gratitude before the meal, and began to eat. As she did, Sakura looked out the window, acting as if she was intrigued by the bird that had landed in the lemon tree outside. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts, and thinking about what Hinata had said to her earlier that morning, that she almost didn't hear Sasuke.

"How is Hinata?" She jumped at his question and turned towards him, but again, he looked as if he hadn't spoken in the first place. He picked up a piece of tomato, placing it in his mouth. Sakura smiled, and looked down at her food.

"She's good. She told me all about her and Naruto, I think he might propose to her soon, when his training load lightens. I also got to see Tenten and Neji too, I hope they get married soon, I can't wait to see it."

"Aa."

She took in a breath and continued eating. It had been a while since she really said her opinions on something to her husband. Usually, she figured he wasn't interested in her affairs, so she wouldn't waste time telling him. She guessed Naruto had had a word with him today and convinced him to do little things like that. And the cutlery retrieval. She took another large bite of a piece of olive and shot Sasuke a small smile. He looked back at her in question.

"How is Tsunade-sama? Shizune told me that today has been a slow day, and that Tsunade didn't really do anything today." Sakura closed her eyes, letting out a small laugh. Sasuke continued eating.

"Aa."

Sakura let out a small sigh, and placed down her chopsticks on her almost empty plate. She had left a few pieces of tomato. She was about to stand up and place her dish in the sink, when Sasuke's chopsticks shot out to her plate and picked up the small pieces of tomato swiftly, before returning them to his plate. She let out a small, girlish laugh, and stood up, now placing her dish in the sink. She went over to stir the left overs in the saucepan, and lifted it off the stove, bringing it over to Sasuke. She served him a smaller second helping, and washed out the little left over pieces. She ran the water for the dishes, and turned back around to watch Sasuke as he finished, her arms crossing.

"It's gotten a bit cooler now. I guess it makes sense, since it's getting dark." She grabbed her shawl from the coat hook in the hall and pulled it around her, rubbing her arms to warm herself up a bit. She looked out the window over the sink, and hummed to herself, waiting for the familiar chink of the chopsticks on the plate to signify that Sasuke was finished. When she heard it, she retrieved his plate from the table and discarded it in the sink and began to wash the dishes.

"Do you have any big missions coming up?" She asked over her shoulder.

"Not until next week." Came the stoic reply. She nodded, and looked out the window again, squinting into the setting light.

"Good, I was hoping you could help me out in the garden. You have a few loose stones on the walkway that need replacing, and I wanted to plant some Azaleas for the spring." Maybe some jasmines. And his fruit trees needed to be harvested. She nodded to herself, knowing she had a lot to do to make this house seem homely. She heard him let out a sigh from behind her.

"I'll pick up some stones from Jin's soon." She nodded once more, finishing up the dishes and beginning to dry them, still avoiding his eyes.

"Thank you, Sasuke." She said gently.

"Hn."

He stood up, pushing in his chair, and dissapeared into the office, appearing once more with three scrolls under his arm. She watched him pass the kitchen in the hallway, and she heard the back screen door open. She smiled, and finished placing the dishes back on the shelf, and headed into her office to pick up some papers to work on. Then she followed his lead and seated herself out on the porch next to him on the wooden bench.

Truly, the content silence was one of the things she enjoyed most about their marriage.


	3. III

Sakura awoke this morning, feeling very refreshed. She sat up happily, and was unwavered by the fact that it was 5:30 in the morning and she wasn't tired. Half expecting Sasuke to already be awake and gone, she turned and unexpectedly found him still in bed, asleep. She let her eyes travel over the naked span of his back, and the rumpled comforter at his waist. She blushed, hearing his light breathing, and slipped stealthily out of the bed, and towards the bathroom, not caring this time that she was also naked. She closed the door behind her and ran a quick shower, and brushed her teeth.

She blushed as she rubbed lotion onto her legs, her hands covering the dull ache that came from her inner thighs and other regions. Even her back hurt.

Last night had been a bit different from what they had done in the past, or at least Sakura thought so.

_After they had gone in for the night, and Sakura had cleaned up her desk, she had headed up stairs, and already heard Sasuke in the shower. She snuck into the bedroom and quickly changed into her nightgown. She had heard the bathroom door open, but she could hear him brushing his teeth. She slid in beside him and used the adjacent sink to brush her own teeth. After she was done, she cleaned up the bathroom, and was about to head into the bedroom when she was shoved against the counter, and his heated lips (and minty breath) mixed with hers. _

_His palms were on either side of her against the counter, trapping her in his embrace, and he was flush against her, still clad in only a towel. He had never once initiated their ritual in anywhere but the bedroom. Sakura had felt the familiar heat between her legs, but also something else pressing against her lower stomach. She blushed red, her hands by her side, aching to rid her husband of the hindrance of the towel. _

_He had forcefully, but not violently, pushed the thin straps of her night gown down her arms and was already yanking up the hem of it. He pulled his lips from hers, and crouched to grab the back of her thighs, hoisting her up and around his hips. The towel had slipped from the movements, and the feel of him against her center drove her instantly insane. _Perhaps this_, she thought, _was the closest to intimacy that she would receive.

_When they finally made it to the bed, she had all fours clasped around him, and this time, both of his hands were on the backs of her knees, hoisting her legs up higher around his waist. His grunts were louder, his thrusting faster, more animalistic, but Sakura was already engrossed in the movements. This time when she finished, it was with a long moan, and when Sasuke peaked, it was a low growl that formed in his throat instead of the usual grunt. _

_And Sakura could have sworn her name had left his lips at the end with said growl. _

Sakura blushed again, pulling herself out of the satisfactory memory. She wrapped a towel around herself, brushed her teeth and applied a bit of makeup satisfactory for going to work as a doctor. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and snuck back into the bedroom and opened the conjoined closet. She took a quick glance at Sasuke's organized, hanging clothes, before reaching towards her own neat clothes, to pull out a blouse and skirt. She closed the closet and tiptoed over to the dresser to get her undergarments. Figuring that Sasuke still turned away from her and asleep, she took a deep breath and dropped her towel, stepping into her clothes.

Either way, she had to get into the habit of this kind of thing, Sasuke was her husband, she had seen him naked plenty of times, and he her. Still, she blushed a little and zipped up her skirt, and adjusted her clothes. When she turned around to step into her flats, she saw that Sasuke was awake, and sitting on the edge of the bed. He stretched briefly and stood up, and faced her. The blush on her cheeks increased slightly at his nakedness, and she averted her eyes, smiling.

"Good morning."

"Hn."

She headed past him to open the curtains, as he pulled on a pair of pants and dissapeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Sakura exhaled, hoping he hadn't really seen her change. It was a childish thing to think but oh well. She made the bed and headed downstairs, deciding on toast and orange juice for her breakfast.

She knew that Sasuke liked grilled tomato on toast for breakfast, so she put a few slices of the still ripe fruits under the griller, and turned on the coffee maker. Usually she would have swarmed around the little heavenly gadget, gulping down five cups before she finally woke up, but today, she actually decided on a healthier choice of drink. She poured herself some juice, and hopped up onto the counter, while she waited for the toast.

She heard him quietly come into the kitchen and sit at the table, just as she was preparing his toast. She placed the tomatoes on the bread and placed the plate down before him at the table with a knife and fork. He nodded in thanks, and she smiled, turning away from him to munch on her own toast, not feeling like sitting down this morning. Toast with jam in hand, she walked over to the little calendar and studied it, her head nodding as she counted the days. Sasuke watched her out of the corner of his eye, trying to figure out if she was revealing what the little x's were.

She finished her breakfast and downed the last of her orange juice. She placed the plates and glass away, and poured Sasuke a cup of coffee. Sakura returned to looking out the window, happy with herself. She figured that by the way this was going, there was a possibility that she could become pregnant. She hummed to herself, before turning back to Sasuke.

"I should be back about 6, I have a double shift today. If you want to wait up for me, I'll be happy to make you a light dinner, if not, takeout sounds good." She smiled, tilting her head towards Sasuke, who sipped his coffee, his eyes closed.

"Hn."

She kissed his cheek lightly, and headed out into the hall, donning her coat and jacket. She put on a little lipstick and adjusted her hair in the mirror. She bid goodbye to Sasuke, and left the compound, a smile on her face the entire way to the hospital. It seemed nothing could end the happy mood of hers.

* * *

She had been at the hospital a few hours, when there was a knock on the door to her office. She called out for the person to enter, and she instantly recognized the head of blonde, spiky hair. Sakura screeched and flew up out of her chair to embrace the young man.

"Naruto!" Said man grinned, and returned her bear hug happily, swinging her up off of her feet.

Since the two had not seen each other in so long, Sakura had grown accustomed to treating Naruto like a loving brother, and she his sister. They shared the same enthusiasms, and as Naruto grew up into a dashing, young man and out of his immaturities, Sakura had grown to love him even more.

"Sakura-chan!" He placed her back on her feet and smacked a kiss to her cheek. She grinned, loving the sound of his never given up suffix for her. She punched his arm, ignoring his pained yelp and pulled him over to sit on the couch. She plopped down next to him, her hands on his arms, still smiling.

"I haven't seen you in forever! How is is going? Tell me all about Hokage training! And Hinata? I already spoke to her, but I want to know more!" Naruto grinned at his teammates enthusiasm and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Jesu, Sak, so much has happened. I'm sure Hinata has told you that she and I do everything together. And I .. I'm really serious about her. When I'm free of all this training crap, I'm gonna propose to her. I love her so much Sakura, but keep it a secret, okay? I don't need her breathing down my neck about marriage proposals!"

Sakura laughed out loud and smacked Naruto on the arm. "Of course I won't silly! What's this Hokage-to-be training like, eh?" Naruto feigned a large yawn and fell back on the cushions of the couch, earning a small giggle from Sakura.

"It's horrific! I spend three hours a day with Granny Tsunade and all she does is yell at me and lecture me! And then I get an hour off for training, and then lunch, and then I go to Kakashi-sensei and all the other older Jounin for paperwork. And then, when I'm finally done with that like 2 hours later, they send me back to the council advisers for lessons on the law for another 4 hours, I swear! It's exhausting! But I will be Hokage, dattebayo!"

Sakura smiled at Naruto, her heart warming at his silly tale. She pulled him back up into a sitting position and hugged him again. Naruto laughed and hugged her back, pulling away to squint at her face.

"So how's Mr. Uchiha? I've done all I can with the teme, I even taught him my romantic ways, dammit, but he's such a bastard. All he does still is 'hn'! Even when I'm kickin' his ass during training, he 'hn's! What a teme!" Sakura smiled warmly at Naruto, letting out a small laugh.

"I knew it was you who talked to him! He's fine, we're getting along fine. You're right about that though, all he does is 'hn', all the damn time. But he's slowly starting to open up. I just wish he would tell me more." She shrugged, and Naruto raised his fist, a large grin on his face.

"Don't worry Uchiha Sakura-chan, I'll get teme to be your romance god by the end of the month! BELIEVE IT!" Sakura let out another howl of laughter, clutching her stomach.

How she had missed her dear friends.

* * *

Sakura yawned, and lounged back in her office chair. She had had a long day, but it wasn't stressful. Mostly, the only patients she had encountered were injured Jounin shinobi and a few children with cuts and scrapes. The rest of her time she spent researching fertility for a master thesis she had promised Tsunade she was going to work on. Just as she was packing up her bag, and standing up, ready to leave, there was a knock on her door, and Shizune peeked in, her face the picture of servitude.

"Sakara-san?" Sakura stood up straight and rubbed her back, which had began a slow, dull ache at the lack of movement she had gotten in the last two hours.

"Yes, Shizune? What is it?"

"Ah, I realize your shift is over, but Tsunade-sama wanted me to come and get you. She would like to talk to you for a moment, if that's okay with you?"

Sakura smiled. "Of course! I'll follow you, I'm just going to grab some books and my notes. I'll be down in a second." Shizune nodded, and closed the door, her heels clicking as she dissapeared down into the lobby to wait for Sakura.

Sakura smiled to herself. Before her marriage to Sasuke, Sakura had been very intimate with Tsunade, and considered the woman like a second mother to her. They had talk about everything, and Sakura had never held back her feelings or opinions from her mentor. But after Sakura's marriage, Tsunade became caught up in her work, and training Naruto, and Sakura was busy going about moving into her new married life as wife to Uchiha Sasuke.

She gathered up her belongings, locked her door, and headed out to follow Shizune to see her mentor, whom she had missed so.

* * *

When she entered the older woman's office in the Hokage tower, Sakura immediately dropped her belongings and ran over to embrace Tsunade, who had stood up to greet her, her eyes filled with tears.

"Sakura.." Tsunade held her, stroking the younger girls hair motherly. Shizune smiled and closed the door, leaving the two to have privacy.

"Shishou.. I am so sorry I couldn't make time to come and see you, I've been moving my stuff in to live at the Uchiha mansion, and my parents made a big deal and-" Tsunade smiled and cut her ex-student off by placing her hands on Sakura's cheeks, brushing away any stray tears.

"It's alright. As long as you're okay. I'm sorry too. I've been busy with the council and training Uzimaki, the closest I've come to a break was a two hour nap yesterday!" Sakura smiled back at her mentor and hugged her one more time, giving her a squeeze, before pulling away and sitting down in front of her desk. Tsunade resumed her seat behind her desk in front of her.

"I forgive you, shishou. Always." Sakura smiled, wiping her eyes one more time and let out a laugh, her mind forgetting all about Sasuke, and how she told him she would be home by now. Tsunade took in a breath and looked at Sakura.

"Is.. Is Sasuke treating you okay? Are you two doing okay? I mean.. is-"

"We're fine, shishou, we're happy." Sakura cut off her mentor, her eyes closed in a smile. Perhaps the first part of her sentence was true, she didn't know about the second. And why did everyone automatically ask if they were okay? She supposed it was because he was Uchiha Sasuke, the man who showed no emotion, and Sakura, full of emotion, was a woman to be worried about. As a married couple, Sakura assumed everyone wanted to see if Sasuke could handle the intimacy that came from being a husband. Sakura took in a breath, and bottled up the rest of her opinions, waiting for her mentor to speak once more.

"I won't keep you much longer, I know you must have duties now as the Lady Uchiha, but I just wanted to give you a small gift. I know that at your wedding, you had everything for the traditions, something new, borrowed, and blue, but I know you didn't have something old." Tsunade pulled out a small box from her desk and handed it to Sakura, whose eyes widened, she held up a hand to deny the gift.

"Oh, shishou, I- I can't-" Tsunade waved her hand away, shoving the box at her.

"Nonsense! It's yours now. I know how you've been growing your hair out, so I figured you might want something nice to hold it up, so you're not always using a bun.." Sakura slowly opened up the box, her mouth gaping open. In a cloud of silk lay a large hair clip, with emerald stones set in it in the shape of a butterfly. It had a diamond overlay, and was cut in solid silver. Sakura gently lifted the clip out of the box, marveling at it.

"It's- it's so beautiful, Tsunade, I-" Tsunade stood up and walked around her desk. She pulled Sakura's hair out of its bun, ruffled the pink mass a bit and pulled it back up into a spiral before taking the clip from Sakura and securing the mass in place. Satisfied, she placed her hands on her hips and gestured to the hall mirror in her office. Sakura stood up and walked over to look at her appearance, and was almost taken aback.

The woman she saw in the mirror was not the usual woman that she always saw every morning. This woman was the statue of grace, a goddess behold. The clip sparkled, and left hairs to fall around Sakura's cheeks, making her look older, more refined. Her mouth opened and closed, and a single tear fell down her cheek. Tsunade placed her hands on Sakura's shoulders and peered into the mirror behind her.

"You look absolutely beautiful, Sakura-" She was cut off as Sakura turned and flung her arms around Tsunade's neck, sobbing softly into the woman's neck. At first, Tsunade was alarmed, thinking she had done something wrong, but then Sakura pulled away to kiss her cheeks, and smiled gaily.

"I absolutely love it, Tsunade, it's magnificent. Are you sure you-"

"Yes. Now go home to your husband and be happy. We'll talk soon." Tsunade kissed her cheeks back, and helped her with her belongings as she left Tsunade's office. Sakura was almost in shock. How was she so blessed to have such friends when her husband was a block of ice? As she was walking home, she wiped away her tears and straightened her clothes, to make herself look as normal as possible.

Then she realized she still had the comb in her hair. She bit her lip, and decided that Sasuke seeing her wearing it wasn't best, he wouldn't even react anyways, but still. She gently pulled out the clip and replaced it in its box and put it in her bag. She ruffled her hair as she stepped into the entryway of the Uchiha compound. She looked at the clock and cursed to herself. It was almost eight. She looked around, and realized that the house was dark. Sasuke must have gone out to eat, she thought to herself sadly.

She took off her shoes and made her way into the bedroom to put her stuff down. She placed the clip in its box in her jewelry drawer on her vanity, and placed her notes and books in her office. She looked around the empty house, deciding what to do next. She shrugged and made her way back into the kitchen, deciding to just throw a simple sandwich together. She did so and ate it heartily, before moving into the living room, turning on the light. She looked around at the bookshelf, small stereo, and scroll shelf, before crossing over to the stereo. She hadn't used this since she spent the first week of her marriage moving in. From where she was, she could see that there was a CD in the player. She frowned and walked closer, opening up the box to see the label on the CD, but it was blank.

She hadn't placed that in there, she was sure. Did Sasuke..? She shrugged and closed the box and hit play. A soft lull of a piano traveled through the air. Sakura smiled. This was beautiful. She closed her eyes, indulging in the slow song, her legs taking her over to Sasuke's small stack of CD's on the bottom of the book shelf. Before Sakura moved in, there had been five CD's on the shelf, and after Sakura moved in, she added her other few to it. She never asked Sasuke what they were, nor had she touched them. She assumed what she was listening to now was one of his CD's.

She sat down on the sofa and continued to listen to the lullaby, her hands pulling a medical book off the shelf. She opened it to her book marked page and began reading. The music on the CD seemed to last forever, and a few minutes later, the front door opened. But there was a large gap between the time it opened and the time it closed. And the door slammed shut. Sakura took no notice of this, but curled her legs under her on the futon, waiting for her husband to enter.

"Sorry, I was late, Sasuke, Tsunade wanted to talk to me. Did you go out to eat with Naruto...?" Her words died in her throat as her husband stormed past her and hit the stop button on the CD player, and the sound of the piano died from the air. Sakura looked up from her book, her eyes wide.

"Sasuke-"

"What are you doing?" He asked angrily, his arms crossed over his broad chest. Sakura gaped at him, unable to answer. His eyes were filled with anger, and she waited for the Sharingan to appear, and more memories of her nightmares formed in her mind.

"I-I-" She stumbled over her words, but he was already moving away from her and out of the living room. She heard him go towards the bedroom and the bathroom door slammed. Sakura let out a breath and bit her lip. Why was he angry? She looked at the CD player, before standing up on her shaking legs. She replaced her medical book on the shelf and made her way slowly towards the bedroom, trying to control her shaking limbs.

To be honest, she was afraid.

Sasuke was not one to hit a woman, domestic violence wasn't his thing, no matter how many times Sakura fathomed him killing her without batting an eye. That was different. But now, he was angry at her, and she didn't know why. She wanted to ask, but part of her didn't. Part of her was afraid of him throwing those stinging words at her (_"You're nothing to me!"_) or even attacking her. She didn't trust him.

Sakura entered the bedroom and quietly shut the door behind her. She could make out Sasuke's form in bed, on his side, facing away from her as usual. She bit her lip and slowly undressed down to her underwear and slipped into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She snuck back into the bedroom and into the bed, and curled herself in the fetal position away from him. She slowly closed her eyes, not knowing if this reality was worse or the nightmare she would find herself in was.

* * *

_This scene was particularly more bloody than the others she had encountered. She was lying on two other bodies, both had been dismembered around the abdomen. She looked around, her eyes waivering. She was afraid. She tried to sit up, but a sharp pain ripped through her rib cage. She looked down, and immediately wanted to erase the memory from her mind at once._

_His katana had gone through the middle of her ribcage, right above her stomach. Sakura took in a breath, wanting to let out a scream, but the sword restricted her from doing so. She coughed, dropping blood all over herself, and suddenly she was being picked up and thrown against the cold wall. One of the walls in the Land of Sand perhaps? She didn't know, nor did she really care, right then. _

_She adjusted her eyes and tried to perch herself on her elbows, but the blow had driven the katana further through her body, and she was having trouble breathing. She lifted her eyes up to meet, once more, Sharingan eyes. Eyes that were filled with hatred and darkness. _

_"Sa-" She tried to talk, but all that came out was blood. The man in front of her smirked. _

_"Still alive?" Sasuke questioned, the Chidori emerging in his palm. His grin widened into a horrific, cheshire smile. _

_"N-no pl-" Sakura raised up her hand towards him, as if to stop him, her lips trying to form words. _

_So this was what Naruto had felt._

_"Don't worry we'll fix that." Sasuke grinned even wider and ran the Chidori through her heart._


	4. IV

The bed sheets were soaked in sweat and tears, and this time, Sakura didn't sit up when she awoke. She already felt the scream erupt from her chest, and she let it happen, let it awaken her from the terrible nightmare. She was awake, but she refused to open her eyes. She could feel old tears dried to her face, and new tears covering the traces. She whimpered and clutched herself deeper into a ball in the middle of the bed.

Finally she opened one eye, still shaking, and to her relief, saw that Sasuke's side of the bed was once more empty.

She slowly sat up and pulled her hair from her face, and pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly. She let out a small sob, and decided to cry there and then, uncaring if Sasuke was still in the house and could hear her.

When she was done, she stood up, and pulled all of the covers from the bed. She looked at the clock, and saw that it was already 9 am in the morning. Luckily, she had a late shift at the hospital today, so she planned on getting some laundry done. She stripped the bed, and bundled it into a ball, and went for the clothes hamper. She quickly hopped in the shower, dressed herself in sweats, and lugged her laundry down the hallway towards the laundry room.

One of the perks of marrying into a rich family, she assumed, was getting your own professional laundry room. She remembered when she lived with her parents, and they had a small washer dryer combo, nothing fancy. And when she lived by herself in an apartment, she had to take her laundry to the laundromat across the street. But the Uchiha's had their own fancy combo.

Sakura took a deep breath and spent about an hour cleaning all the clothes. She left the clean ones in the basket to be ironed later and headed into the kitchen. There were no dishes in the sink, but Sakura could see another tomato missing from the bunch. She walked towards the coffee pot, thanking that Sasuke had left it on and poured herself a cup. She sat down at the table and sipped the bitter liquid, her mouth forming a scowl. But she finished it anyways.

After she cleaned up, she headed back towards the bedroom to put on another pair of sheets and a comforter. Within three hours, she managed to iron the laundry, clean up the kitchen, prepare a small lunch, and pretty much clean the rest of the house. And by lunch, Sasuke wasn't home, so she just assumed he was out on a mission or training. She didn't bother to worry about it, and instead focused on other things. She planned on starting on the garden, but found she was exhausted. So instead she headed into the living room, avoiding the CD player and laid down on the couch.

She hadn't planned on taking a nap, but she found out that she was just that exhausted, so she did. By the time she was awake, it was time for her to go to work, so she washed up, downed another cup of coffee, and made Sasuke a small rice bowl for dinner. She left the instructions for how to heat it up on the counter and a small note that she would be back from work in the early morning.

Before she left, she made sure to apply extra foundation to her eyes, she could easily see that the dark circles had gotten worse, and she probably looked like shit. She grabbed her bag and coat and left the Uchiha compound.

Perhaps she could just hide from everyone today.

* * *

Sakura was wrong.

Horribly wrong.

Not even halfway into her shift, she was elbow deep in placenta from delivering twins, and then soon after, covered in blood after having to heal a whole team of ANBU from a tribal attack outside of the closest village barriers.

And then, at the end of her shift, literally minutes before she planned to clock out for the evening (or morning now, as it was 3 am), two teens came in, one with a kunai stuck up his nose and another with one stuck where the sun didn't shine.

She finally made it out of the hospital, and waved away all the thank yous and compliments. She brushed past Hana, the receptionist, grumpily muttering madness to herself, and walked home. She yawned every 5 seconds, and by the time she reached the compound door, she was ready to collapse. She slammed open the door and slammed it closed behind her, and frowned at the fact that the kitchen light was on. She stepped out of her shoes, dropped her coat and bag and shuffled into the kitchen, stopping as she saw her husband sat at the kitchen table. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"Sasuke? What are you doing up? It's almost 4 in the morning.." She yawned again and sighed happily as she saw that the coffee pot was on and ready to pour out some delicious, bitter sludge. She shakily poured herself a cup and collapsed at the table across from him.

"Hn."

If she hadn't been so tired, she would have seen him looking at her, but alas, she was exhausted so she only lifted her head to gulp down the coffee before dropping her head back onto the table with a thump.

She slowly finished the coffee, hoping it would keep her awake long enough for her to apologize for yesterday's incident, but her eyes were glued shut. She let go of the empty coffee mug and sat up, rubbing her eyes. The mug dissapeared from beside her and she hazily saw Sasuke place it in the sink and turn off the coffee maker. She smiled slowly at him.

"Well I'm gonna get some sleep now, goodni..." She stood up, but felt an arm jut around her waist. Thankful for the support, and not awake enough to analyze it's source, she leaned against the source of warmth, letting out a small, but happy groan. Suddenly, she was being lifted up, arms supporting her under her thighs and shoulders, bridal style. She wrapped her arms around the source's neck and leaned into his shoulder.

The last thing she remembered was being put into a warm, lovely smelling bed, and an arm pulling her towards a new source of warmth that she'd never before experienced.

Then she passed out.

* * *

When Sakura awoke, it was 3 in the afternoon, and she felt refreshed as ever. She opened her eyes and turned over, seeing that the bed was empty. She smacked herself and sat up, yawning. Of course it would be empty, Sasuke wouldn't lounge around in bed in the afternoon. She stood up from the bed and looked at her wrinkled, uncomfortable clothes from yesterday. She took a long, hot shower and then made the bed.

She changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top and walked down the hallway towards the kitchen. She could hear the faint scrape of metal on metal from the other side of the house and decided that Sasuke was cleaning his weapons in the weaponry room. She opened up the refrigerator and stared at the contents for a good five minutes, before closing it, realizing she had no clue of what to make. Her stomach growled. She was hungry. She made up a pot of chai tea and sat down at the table, her legs crossed on the seat. she closed her eyes and when she opened them again, Sasuke was in front of her, making his way towards the cupboard. He reached for a glass, and poured himself some water, taking a sip.

"Good afternoon." Sakura said meekly. Sasuke set down the glass on the table and took his seat across from her, avoiding her eyes.

She thought back to coming home from work this morning. She remembered that the coffee pot was on, and that she had drunk a cup, and.. Sasuke had waited up for her? She remembered him picking her up and putting her into bed, as she was too tired to walk. And then she remembered an arm around her waist in bed, pulling her flush against someone else. She shook her head. It must of been her imagination running wild, there was no way Sasuke would have done any of that. For one, he wasn't a cuddler.

She probably just arrived home, poured some coffee and went to bed. Sakura nodded inwardly. Yes, she had done that.

She finished up her tea and went for another cup, turning to Sasuke as she did. "Would you like some tea?" He shook his head and took another swing of his water. Sakura put the pot down and sat back in her place, watching her husband. She then looked at her hands around the cup, playing with her fingers.

"Sasuke...", she continued to avert her eyes, even when he looked up towards her face, "I'm... I'm sorry." She knew he knew what she was apologizing for. She honestly hadn't meant to cause him harm by playing the CD. It was just so.. so.. beautiful.

"Hn." He looked away, but when she looked back up at him, she realized that he wasn't angry. She decided to change the subject to get her mind off of it.

"I have another day off, and I really don't feel like cooking, do you want to go out and get something to eat?" She asked gently, watching his gaze turn towards the calendar, as if to see what day it was. He sighed, but didn't answer. He stood up, and placed his empty glass in the sink and dissapeared into the hallway. She twiddled her fingers, figuring he meant no, and stood up to start looking for something to cook.

Well she still had some fresh rice, there was a tomato left, some still fresh fish she had frozen yesterday.. She shrugged. She could make some kind of stir fry. Thanks to her mother's expertise cooking, Sakura had learned a thing or two about how to customize a bowl. Just as she was pulling the fish out of the freezer, Sasuke walked back into the kitchen.

"I reserved a table at the Dual Dragons." He said curtly and stood where he was, curious at what Sakura was doing. She stood up abruptly and slammed the freezer door.

"Sasuke! That's a very high end restaurant! Are you sure?" Sasuke crossed his arms and looked away, not amused at her shock.

"Tch." She shrugged and nodded.

"Well okay, I'll get ready. What time?"

"6:30."

* * *

Sakura ran a hot bath for herself, with plenty of time before the restaurant reservation. She planned to soak in the tub a little to get rid of the awful sweat that still clung to her from her nightmares. She hopped in and closed her eyes, in complete bliss. What she loved most about the Uchiha's compound, was that the bath was separate from the shower, and in a completely different room. And it had its own screen and mirror and everything. Sakura was beginning to not miss her tiny little apartment at all.

After about thirty minutes, still an hour from the reservation, she emerged from the bath room in a silk robe and headed into the bedroom and sat at her vanity mirror. She could hear Sasuke in the shower, probably starting to get ready, so she took her time cleaning her face and putting on some makeup. She headed over to the closet to pick out a kimono, just as Sasuke emerged from the bathroom, towel around his pale hips, as always. Sakura couldn't help but sneak a peak at her husbands gorgeous muscles and six pack as she turned back to her clothes, blushing. She chose one of her best kimonos, one of sheer, light pink with the emblem of a sakura tree in gold around the bottom. She saw Sasuke grab his own formal wear and slip back into the bathroom, closing the door behind him, to change.

Sakura searched through her drawer, pondering at what undergarments to wear. She couldn't just wear her usual bra and panties under a lovely dress like this. She frowned, searching, until she came upon something black and lacy. She blushed, pulling out the lingerie combo, remembering suddenly where it came from. This had been Ino's wedding present to her.

_"Remember, forehead." Ino snickered, wriggling her eyebrows at her best friend, "Sasuke's favorite color_ is _black."_

Sakura blushed, wanting to force the material back in the drawer and to suffice with a nicer number she had, but her hands held tight to the material, and before she knew it, she was slipping it on, and then the kimono over the top.

She seated herself back in front of her makeup mirror, ready to do her hair, when Sasuke emerged back from the bathroom, dressed in an expensive, black robe with a silver dragon on it. She smiled, marveling at how handsome he looked, before he disappeared out the room. She focused her attention back on the mirror and made a face. How should she do her hair?

She always did a bun for work, and she couldn't do a ponytail. She grimaced. She could leave it down, but she didn't have time to curl it. She really should put it up, such a formal outfit deserved a formal look..

While rummaging for her lipstick in her drawer, she came across Tsunade's box. She smiled silently, knowing it was perfect.

* * *

Sasuke lounged on the futon in the living room, waiting for Sakura to emerge from the bedroom. He looked at the clock, seeing it was time to get going and stood up.

"Sak-" His eyes caught sight of her in the hallway, and he immediately shut his mouth midsentence.

The kimono she had chosen clung to every delicious curve Sakura owned on her body, especially her hips and waist. The pink color brought out her hair and her emerald eyes shone brightly like newly polished diamonds. His eyes traveled up to her face, done simply, pink lipstick and pale eye shadow, and to her hair. He swallowed. He had never seen that hair clip before, but the way it pulled her hair away from her face so, he didn't give a damn for it, only to thank it. Her hair was teased into a small twist, held by the clip, which left a few strands of hair to frame her beautiful face. She was a goddess. He swallowed again, feeling the tips of his ears heating up.

"Sasuke? Are you alright?" She took a step towards him, her hand out and ready to help him if needed. He turned away, looking at the clock; trying not to draw his gaze back to the sight in front of him.

"Fine." He said. She smiled and nodded.

"We should get going then." He came out of the living room to meet her in the hallway and held out his arm to her. Sakura took it with a small smile, and they exited the compound together. If Sakura had not been trained in the art of formalities, she would have fangirled over the moment when Uchiha Sasuke held out his arm for her to take. But she knew that this extended arm was a move that every man would make to his wife before preparing to escort her somewhere. Still, she smiled happily.

"You look very handsome." She murmured, looking up at her husband, who didn't meet her eyes.

"Hn."

* * *

The dinner had gone by very slowly, and very silently. Mostly, Sakura had held a small conversation, making small remarks for Sasuke to respond with his usual sounds to. He even bought her a small desert of her favorite tiramasu.

As they walked back home through the streets in the setting sun, Sakura could see the people coming out of stores and houses to stare at the couple.

_Isn't that the Lord and Lady Uchiha?_ someone asked.

_Lady Uchiha looks absolutely beautiful! _a woman whispered to her husband.

_They're such a lovely couple. _another remarked, sighing happily.

Sakura blushed at the comments, and stole a look at her husband, but his face was expressionless as ever. They entered the Uchiha compound, and Sakura stepped into the living room and collapsed on the futon, rubbing her aching, now bare feet. She looked up as Sasuke followed her in and sat on the opposite side of the futon.

"That was lovely, Sasuke... I-.. thank you." She sat up straight, and Sasuke crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"Hn."

Sakura leaned over suddenly and placed a long kiss to his cheek. She could see that the tips of his ears were burning, and she smiled and stroked his thigh gently. She then stood up, and stretched her arms over her head.

"Wow, after all the sleep I've gotten, I'm still so tired.." She trailed off and started to head towards the bedroom, then stopped. She turned around, seeing that Sasuke wasn't following her, and walked back over to him and grabbed his arm gently pulling him off the futon with her monstrous strength. She continued to smile at him gently.

"Come on, Sasuke." She murmured, and lead him towards their bedroom.

"Hn." She giggled at his attempt at defensive refusals. She closed the door behind him and stood in the middle of the room, looking at her husband. He stood there, looking back at her. She shrugged and walked over to her mirror and took a seat in front of it. She heard him slowly undoing his robe, slipping out of the material to hang it back up. Sakura looked at her face, and slowly removed her makeup with a tissue. She turned back towards her hair, and sighed at how beautiful it was, not really wanting to take it out. But she knew she couldn't sleep in such an expensive clip.

She took a deep breath and raised her fingers to grasp the clip, and gently pull it out-

"Don't."

She jumped and turned to her husband, her hand pulling away from her clip, leaving the hairstyle still perfectly in place. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sasuke.. did you sp-"

"Leave it." she looked up at his face, realizing it was hidden by his bangs because he was looking down. He was sat, shirtless on the edge of the bed, clad only in dark pants. She opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it again and turned back to stand up and slowly move towards the bathroom.

"Uhm.. okay I guess I'll go.. change-"

He wasn't one of the best ANBU captains for nothing. Before she could even finish her sentence, he was stood in front of her, blocking the doorway to the bathroom. She scanned his face for reason or explanation, and found none.

"Sasuke, are you al-" He cut her off once more, his lips gently lowering to hers in his usual small, chaste kiss. When he pulled away, Sakura bit her lip.

_Oh._

The kiss was far from being an intimate or romantic one, but it was surely gentler and felt nicer than the others. She raised a hand to cup his cheek, to try to look into his eyes, but he held them hidden once more, looking at the floor between them. She took a small breath and mustered up all of the courage in her body. Slowly, she withdrew her hand from his face and moved her her fingers to her kimono, she slowly undid her robe ties, and she shakily pulled the material off her shoulders. She heard it hit the floor with a small _thunk_ and looked up at Sasuke once more. This time he was looking down at her, his eyes staring into hers. She could tell there was lust, as always, but something else.. something she couldn't make out. And the lust wasn't that prevalent this time.

His eyes traveled down her face and her neck, and slowly down to her lacy bra. She swallowed, her cheeks growing red under his watchful eyes.

"Aa." She didn't know what that meant, but she was almost relieved to hear him respond to her. His eyes continued down her flat stomach and landed on the other piece to her matching lingerie. With her hands still shaking, she reached behind her and undid her bra clasp, letting the material slowly fall down her body and to the floor. She closed her eyes, feeling his eyes still on her and slid the rest of the thin black material down her legs, and stepped out of the panties. Finally, she placed her warm, small hands on the band of his pants at his hips and pulled them down his legs, willing herself to look away from the obvious truth she had just uncovered.

She swallowed a hard lump in her throat, and felt him crouch down and grip the back of her thighs, gentler this time. She almost sighed in relief. This part was usual. She slowly placed her hands onto the cool skin of his shoulders, as he hoisted her up, locking her legs around his hips.

Only this time, her back did not hit the soft sheets with a warm body looming over her. She opened her eyes slowly, and saw that instead, he had seated himself on the edge of the bed, with her on his lap. She blushed deeper, her mouth refusing to form words. She searched for his eyes, but he still would not show them, they were hid behind his bangs as he looked away from her. She could see a small hint of a blush on his cheekbones.

"S-Sasuke..?" She murmured so quietly she almost thought she didn't say it. But he refused to look at her, and kept his fingers on the back of the top of her thighs. She moved slightly in his lap, feeling the heat between her legs clash with his. She bit her lip and placed her hands on his cheeks gently, waiting for him to respond. What did he mean to-

"Ride me."

His voice was hoarse and deep, and she almost thought she had imagined him saying it, but she jumped, turning her eyes to his face. She blushed deeper.

"I-I-"

"_Please_."

She bit her lip, and closed her eyes at the sound of his desperate plea. Jesu, she couldn't even form words right now.

Sakura adjusted in his lap, positioning herself, and the moment she started, his lips parted in pleasure. His head tilted back, and Sakura watched him, her own eyes heavy lidded, her lips opening. She began to slowly move against him, creating a minimal pace, but he was already lost in her. His hands were gone from the backs of her thighs and were instead on her hips, guiding her back and forth. Her thighs involuntarily squeezed his with every movement, and his head slowly fell even farther back, his mouth omitting a few pants. Sakura moved her hands up to wrap her arms around his neck, and buried her head into his shoulder, feeling a little bit embarrassed at the situation, but still lost in the pleasure it was causing.

Sasuke gripped the skin of her hollow hips harder, his hands guiding her to increase the pace of her ministrations, and Sakura happily agreed. She bit her lip, but let a small mewl escape her mouth and into his collarbone, the vibrations instantly making Sasuke shudder. As she continued to go faster, he let out a low growl from his chest, his hands moving down to cup her ass, pressing her closer and closer to him.

"S-Sasuke.." She murmured, and gripped his neck harder. His hands pressed upwards over her spine and cupped her arms. He pulled them away from his neck, and lifted her head up, her eyes meeting his. She stared into his obsidian orbs, and for the first time in a long time, she wasn't scared. As the pressure began to heighten, she opened her mouth more, larger pants and sounds coming from her throat, and her eyes began to close. She felt something clammy press against her forehead and she realized it was Sasuke's forehead. She blushed, continuing to grind against him, hearing his own panting increase.

His hands repositioned themselves on her behind as he guided her harder and faster against him, and her own hands tangled in his hair, her lips finding his. She hadn't meant to kiss him, she knew that he probably wouldn't like it, but in the heat of the moment, doing so was the only thing that could keep her believing that this was real. _This was her Sasuke, her __husband_, she thought, _she had every right to kiss him if she wanted. _At first, his lips didn't respond, but then they slowly kissed back, and she slipped her tongue out to lick his lip. His own mouth opened, and soon they were in a heated bind, tongues battling each other. She massaged his scalp, finally going at the fastest pace she could muster against him, the heat in the pit of her stomach ready to burst. She pulled away from his lips and breathed heavily, ready to finish.

"Sakura-"

She let out a long moan, finally coming down off her high, and hearing that was all Sasuke needed before he two let out another growl and came too. He lay his head on her shoulder, panting heavily, and Sakura placed a kiss on the top of his head. She smiled, her hands stroking his hair.

This was the intimacy she had always wanted. She was sure of it now.

Even when they finally lay down in the bed, and Sasuke, for once lay on his back, still panting, Sakura planted her head on his chest and closed her eyes, honestly expecting him to move out from under her. But he didn't. She felt his hand briefly caress the crown of her head and she smiled still. She only remembered the clip in her hair when his fingers swiftly pulled it out her tangled locks, letting them fall over her shoulders.

And Sasuke, it seemed, was in heaven at the goddess that had loomed over him.

But he would never admit to that.

"I love you." Sakura murmured lightly, before finally willing herself to sleep.


	5. V

_Sakura opened her eyes and realized instantly that she was in the weaponry room of the Uchiha compound. There was a storm outside, and the lightning struck through the windows in the room, the bright light blaring. She held up an arm to protect her eyes, and turned to leave the room, only to find him standing in the doorway. _

_His eyes, this time, were not in his Sharingan form. They were just his regular, obsidian, cold eyes. She swallowed as he took a step towards her, his katana raised. _

_"Sasuke, please-" This time she was able to form words, and her hands were held out towards him, palms up as if to help him. He smirked in the darkness, but said nothing. He slowly walked towards her closer, and closer, and she had no time to speak once more, or to beg him to stop._

_Because he had already driven his sword through her stomach._

* * *

Sakura bolted upright in bed, a small whimper escaping her lips.

This time though, her husband's eyes snapped open at the sound, and he sat up right too, turning towards his wife.

"Sakura?" He asked, his eyes turning to her, Sharingan activating instantly to look for danger. She saw this and whimpered louder, moving away from him on the bed, still immersed in the dream.

"P-please.. don't.." She pulled her knees against her and huddled under the sheets, her arms wrapping around her legs. She was breathing heavily. Sasuke frowned, worried, and oustretched a hand towards her again.

"Sak-"

"_No!_" Sasuke pulled his hand away and stared at his wife, unsure of what to do to help her, his Sharingan disapearing from his eyes. She whimpered harder and pulled herself out of the bed. She collapsed to her knees on the floor by the bed, holding her face in her hands as she slowly tried to clear her mind. Finally, she managed to get a grip on what was real right now, and stood up slowly on shaking legs. She wrapped her arms around herself and headed towards her dresser, pulling her bathrobe from where it was hanging over her vanity chair. She pulled it around her shoulders, ignoring her husband's worried look on her back.

"Sakura.." He tried again, ready to get up from the bed to go towards her, but her words kept him where she was.

"It's .. it's okay. I'm just going to head down to the kitchen." She wrapped her arms around herself again and disappeared into the darkened house. Sasuke was tempted to follow her, and he was already standing up, his arm reaching out for his pants. His head replayed how she had reacted to him as she woke up. He got back into bed and turned towards the door, his eyes open. He would wait until she came back to bed.

Unfortunately that night, she never did.

* * *

Sakura was awoken from the dull throbbing in her neck. She sat up slowly from the couch cushions and looked around the living room. She remembered walking down the hallway, away from Sasuke, and the bedroom towards the living room, where she had lain, letting tears slip down her face before she fell asleep. What was wrong with her? Why did she keep having these nightmares?

She rubbed her eyes, and looked down, finding herself covered in a thick blanket. She frowned. She hadn't brought a blanket with her to the couch..

Sasuke however, had waited for two hours, and realizing she didn't plan on coming back to bed, made his way out into the hallway to look for her. He had found her on the couch and had instantly wrapped a blanket around her, seen her dried tears, and shuffled back to bed, no idea of what to do. He willed himself to sleep for a few more hours until the sun came up and then he was gone from the compound, to look for answers. But Sakura didn't know that. She only woke up to find him gone.

Sakura yawned, and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and stood up. She padded towards the bedroom and peeked in, finding the bed empty and made, then she returned to the kitchen, finding it also empty.

"Sasuke?" She called, her arms gripping the blanket tighter, as she shivered. She called out his name again, and realized that he wasn't here.

She bit her lip, memories flooding back to her at what happened last night. She hadn't meant to push him away, she was still in her dream, scared. It just.. happened. She bit her lip harder. Perhaps he was scared and still embarrassed from their last lovemaking. She blushed a little, but pushed away the thoughts. She headed towards the bath room and run water into the tub.

She sat in the water for what seemed like an hour before getting dressed in her work outfit and heading out the door. She figured she could catch up on some extra shifts. And perhaps during her break, she should call Hinata. Or Ino. Or even Naruto.

* * *

During her lunch hour, Sakura finished a full sandwich and an apple, before she took a deep breath and called Hinata's number. The woman picked up on the first ring.

"Hi, Sakura! What's up?"

"Oh not much, uhm.. I just .. ah.. I need to tell someone what happened between Sasuke and I.." She heard Hinata hesitate but bid she continue. Sakura breathed in, and told Hinata all about Sasuke taking her out to dinner and the.. part afterward. Sakura was glad that Hinata couldn't see her right now, because she was blushing very hard, and left out no detail. She did, however, leave out her dark nightmare, and how she had pushed Sasuke away soon after. After she was done, Hinata squealed and she sounded like she was jumping up and down.

"Oh, Sakura, I told you he loved you! It just takes him some time to open up! Gah you lucky girl, I bet it was a hot encounter!" She giggled at Sakura's awkward acceptance and laugh. Sakura looked towards the framed photos she had on her desk, her eyes focusing on their wedding photo, at Sasuke's cold, unwavering gaze, and Sakura's happy smile.

"I think he's embarrassed, Hinata, he left for work early this morning." She heard Hinata giggle once more.

"He'll come around. Good luck, and have as much fun as you can! I knew that Ino was right, his favorite color really is black!" Sakura shushed her, but laughed, promising to talk later. She hung up and looked at the wedding picture again.

She had never told anyone, and neither had he, but they never took a honeymoon. Every time one of their friends asked, Sakura avoided the question, and Sasuke kept quiet. It seemed reasonable, Sakura had a lot of moving to do to get her stuff into the Uchiha compound, she had a lot of adjusting to do, she didn't have time for a honeymoon with her new husband.

But that didn't stop her from fantasizing at what it would be like to be on honeymoon with a Sasuke who actually opened up to her.

* * *

Because the hospital was quiet today, Sakura decided to finish her shift after fours and go home. Either way it was extra hours she was putting in, and either way, she didn't have another shift until tomorrow night. She wrapped herself in her coat, feeling the small wind that had picked up rustle though the thin material. She shivered as she walked down the familiar streets that gave Konaha it's mundane feel. It was only late afternoon, but the wind that had started showed the hint of an upcoming thunderstorm, so mothers were pulling in their children, shopkeepers closing the doors, waiting for the rain to begin.

Sakura increased her pace, aiming to get home as soon as possible, but then another thought crossed her mind. She should probably go and see her best friend, Ino, before it got late. The two had managed to keep in touch, unlike Hinata and Tenten who were busy, but Sakura still felt the need to see her friend every few days. Sakura headed down the familiar side street towards the Yamanaka Flower Shop, but her feet slowed to a stop as she saw a figure against the counter. She immediately recognized the hair. She let out a breath and hid behind a giant rosebush Ino had placed outside. Thanks to Ino's store door still open, she could hear the faint voices.

She frowned. Why was Sasuke in Ino's store-

"Sorry, Uchiha. I can't exactly figure out your problem with such limited details."

"That's all I know, Yamanaka, now explain!"

"Jesu, there's nothing to explain. You can't just barge in here and tell me that Sakura woke up, got scared of you, and disappeared and expect me to diagnose a whole goddamn problem. You have to give me more details!"

"Tch. Ibiki's successor."

"Don't mock me, you bastard!"

Sasuke was right. Ever since Morino Ibiki's retirement from ANBU investigations, Yamanaka-Nara (because she decided it sounded better this way around) Ino had taken over, having been already promoted to ANBU status. Her mind control jutsu's and attitude gave her the edge for investigating and interrogations that no other candidates had, and from then on, Ino was the leader of interrogations branch of the ANBU.

Sakura peered over the rosebush and saw her husband stood in front of Ino's shop counter, his hands crossed over his biceps, face looking dangerously irritated. Ino eas leaning on the counter, her lips a thin line. She frowned.

"Look, I'll talk to her, but I can't promise anything. And next time you have a problem, I suggest you don't come storming in, shove my customers out and immediately start yelling!"

"Hn." Sasuke grumbled, and set his eyes down onto the floor. Ino let out a short laugh and raised an eyebrow at the Uchiha.

"Well, is that it? I hope you didn't expect me to just listen your marriage problems and for you to walk out of here empty handed. I'm getting ready to close the store, there's a storm coming. Either buy something or get out!"

Sasuke mumbled something, and Ino turned her ear towards him, indicating he repeat. He sighed, a large frown settled on his handsome brow.

"Azalea seeds." Ino's hard look immediately changed into a bright smile. She beamed at him, stood up straight and walked around her counter to the seed shelf.

"Well, why didn't you say that before!"

"Tch."

Sakura turned away from Ino's store and swallowed. Sasuke told her about what happened last night? She slowly walked away from the flower store, heading towards the Uchiha compound, lost in thought. She kept her eyes trained on the ground in front of her as she ran through everything she had just heard. She honestly hadn't figured that Sasuke would even ask anyone for advice. She had assumed that this morning, he just wanted to forget everything that happened and move on. Did he really care about her then?

Sakura bit her lip.

His actions before her nightmare indicated that something in him was changing, that maybe he was opening up to her, but she didn't really think that he was per se growing to care about her. Either way, she knew that Ino would have to bring up this subject sometime soon and Sakura would be backed into the corner, unready to tell her best friend everything. She supposed she would just have to wait until the call came from Ino and act as if nothing had happened like last night.

She blushed. She really _didn't_ want to act like last night hadn't happened after dinner, but she knew pushing it would just drive Sasuke away, and she didn't want that. So instead, she decided to just leave everything alone, and to go on with her life. She stopped outside the Uchiha compound's doors, and reached for her key. She figured she should get in and start dinner before Sasuke arrived home and wondered where she had been.

She stepped inside, took off her shoes, bag and coat and headed into the kitchen. Without thinking, she pulled out the frozen fish, putting it in water to defrost, and the leftover rice. She reached over, aiming to pick up the last tomato to slice, but found it gone. She sighed heavily, cursing her husband's addiction to the delicious fruit, and reached over towards the green peppers. Sasuke would have to suffice with something other than tomatoes until she got to the market tomorrow.

She was just rolling up the finishing touches on her homemade sushi, when the front door opened and closed swiftly. Sakura wiped her arm across her brow, and started humming a small tune, while she got out the plates and chopsticks. She heard Sasuke's light footsteps enter the kitchen, and there was a rustle as he dropped a bag onto the kitchen counter. She turned to him and gave him a small smile, before placing their plates of food down on the table.

She sat down opposite her husband and placed her hands together, bowing her head lightly. Sasuke did the same.

"Itadakimasu." They said quietly, and began eating. Sakura's eyes traveled to the paper bag on the counter, her eyes reading the label for Ino's Flower Shop. She acted as if she was trying to figure out the contents, even though she secretly already knew. She felt Sasuke's gaze on her turned head.

"What did you get at Ino's?" Sakura questioned between bites of green pepper.

"Azalea seeds." Sasuke continued eating, and she could read his face that he was a bit unhappy at the lack of tomatoes with his dinner. Sakura let out a small giggle, and returned to eating. She didn't meet his eyes again until she finished.

"Gomen, Sasuke, that was very sweet of you. I thought tomorrow, since I don't have to be at work til nighttime, that I would go to the market and get you some more tomatoes and after I could start on the garden. I'd like to plant the Azalea's on the strip of earth by the porch, if that's alright?"

She realized that now, this was also technically her home now, but she still asked Sasuke's permission to make any adjustments. It was his house, where he had lived all his life, and he had gone through so much in this compound. She swallowed, waiting for his response.

"Hn." She looked up at his face, finally, and realized he must have agreed. He wasn't denying her request, so she shrugged, and looked out the kitchen window, seeing the wind blowing the tree branches now. She could hear thunder rumbling a few miles away.

"Well okay. I suppose we'll have to stay inside tonight, it's about to storm like a bitch outside."

"Aa."

She watched as he placed down his chopsticks on his plate, and she stood up, taking the plates towards the sink. She ran the water to begin the dishes, and folded her arms, still watching the storm picking up outside the window.

"Sakura." She jumped at Sasuke's voice, and turned towards him, but he was looking away from her.

"Hm?" She tilted her head, waiting for him to speak once more.

"Aa." She rolled her eyes and turned back to the sink, sighing at her husband's lack of speech. Sakura huffed, inwardly wishing that she could still have the intimate Sasuke that she was with last night. She wiped her cheeks, trying to stop a small blush from forming, and started the dishes. She continued humming the tune she hadn't finished earlier and realized Sasuke was still sat at the table. She said nothing, but was happy to have his quiet presence to keep her company.

When the rain started to hit the kitchen window, Sasuke stood up, his hands grabbing the teapot and steeper. Sakura wanted to ask him what he was doing, but realized she might as well keep quiet. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he slowly made a pot of chai tea, his hands fiddling with the switches on the oven as he tried to turn on the burner to boil the water. She giggled as he quickly gave up and used his own fire jutsu to quickly boil the water. Sakura giggled, and dried up the dishes, putting them away.

Sasuke poured out two cups of tea, and dissapeared from the kitchen. She heard him collapse down on the futon in the living room, and she smiled, grabbing her own tea. She took a sip, and reached out to grab a small desert plate. She opened a box of small unsweetened cookies (the only ones that Sasuke would eat) and placed a few down on the plate, and headed into the living room. She placed the plate down gently onto the glass coffee table and walked over to the book shelf, her hand still holding her tea cup.

She let the cup warm her hands as she tilted her head, reading over all of the book spines. Most of the books were Sakura's medical books, but a few were Sasuke's ANBU guides. The rest of the books were Sakura's novels, her favorites from her childhood and teenage years. The bottom of the shelf she had left for photo albums. Currently, there were only a few on the shelf, two balanced together that were from Sakura's childhood, but on the opposite side of the shelf, there was a large, black one.

Probably Sasuke's, she thought to herself. She reached out towards a small white one leaned against her other albums of Sakura's, and moved to it down next to Sasuke on the futon. She folded her legs under her and opened the album to the first page, reading the inscription that she herself had beautifully written.

_Lord Sasuke & Lady Sakura Uchiha_.

She smiled, and turned to the first page, which was their wedding photo. It was only Sasuke and Sakura in the picture, both clad in the traditional robes, standing in front of the beautiful arch of roses that symbolized the wedding gardens of Konaha. Sasuke, of course was not showing any indication of emotion on his face, but Sakura was smiling pleasantly at the camera. She could see his fingers on her waist, and her arms were folded in front of her.

_"Smile, teme!" Naruto, the best man had screamed, as the photographer was getting ready to snap the photo. Sasuke had scowled, making the photographer scream, and turn to Naruto, smacking him repeatedly over the head with his invitation. Naruto had screamed out too, and soon, Sakura was in a fit of giggles. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing deeply. The photographer had then yelled promptly at Sasuke, telling him to put his hand on Sakura's waist. Finally, Sasuke had stopped scowling, Sakura had smiled, and the picture was snapped. _

_But that was just the ceremony. _

_The reception was quite different. It was held in the ball room outside of Konaha's gardens, and it had been decorated in white and cream, courtesy of Sakura's designs and Sasuke's unwillingness to input an opinion. AS tradition followed, Sasuke and Sakura sat at the head of the large table, Sasuke taking small sips of his wine, as Sakura munched on some of the small dinner. With Ino and Hinata sat at her side, and Naruto to Sasuke's right, it felt like everything was going to be okay. Until Naruto flew up, wine glass and spoon in hand. He had knocked the table, elbowing Sasuke in the shoulder, who promptly kicked Naruto. Finally, the blonde haired man was on his feet and clinking the spoon to the glass, leaving a small crack. He slowly placed the glass down, pushing it away and rubbed the back of his neck. _

_"Wow. I er- Man when I was writing this speech, I really thought I wouldn't be nervous, but I am now!" Everyone chuckled. Except Sasuke, who crossed his arms and looked down at his plate. Sakura giggled, her eyes on Naruto. Honestly, she had no idea what his best man speech would be like, only Hinata knew. She winked at Sakura, and Ino nudged her best friend happily. _

_"Well.. these last few years have been long, and hard for everyone here. But finally our teme is back!" Naruto ignored Sasuke's death glare aimed at him, and continued. "Uchiha Sasuke is back to restore the Uchiha clan. Isn't that amazing? After all he's been through, and he's back. And who better than Haruno Sakura, our favorite head medic and pinkette to be his wife? Sakura can keep him in check, don't worry guys! Ah, I guess I just wanna say that since our Team 7 days, even when I had the biggest crush on Sakura, I always knew that she would be happy with the man she loved. She deserves it. And teme here, well Sasuke, Sasuke deserves happiness too, even if all he does all day is scowl! To the happy new Uchiha's!" _

_Everyone in the room had toasted, following Naruto, repeating his last words. Sakura smiled, seeing tears coming to Naruto's eyes. She felt her own eyes brimming with tears, and wiped them away quickly, looking around the room. _

_"NOW LETS HIT THE DANCE FLOOR!" She laughed as Naruto's scream cut through the air, and everyone began standing up to dance. Naruto ran over to Hinata, pulling her up, and led her to the dance floor, giving her a twirl. Sakura smiled, watching Ino, Tenten, and the rest of her friends slowly disappear onto the dance floor. She stole a quick look at her husband, not expecting him to even ask her to dance anyways. Sasuke didn't dance. She looked back down at her folded hands in her lap, a small, but sad smile still on her features. She watched as everyone danced around, laughter filling the air. Hell, even Kakashi and Anko looked like they were having fun. She saw Tsunade in the corner, sneaking a few glasses of sake, looking around for Shizune (who was already dancing with her new husband, Iruka.) Sakura laughed out loud, and continued to scan the crowds. _

_Her eyes widened, as the music slowly turned into a piano number, and everyone formed a circle around the center of the dance floor. She bit her lip, knowing she would have to make up and excuse for why she and Sasuke were not going to have their slow dance, but when she opened her mouth and turned to her husband, she saw that he was standing up, eyes hidden, his hand outstretched towards her. She gulped and took it, letting him lead her towards the circle of people. _

_His hand took hers, his other arm wrapping around her waist, and her hand placed itself on her shoulder. He led her in a slow waltz, and she kept her eyes on his robes, not wanting to look at anyone, especially him. When the song ended, he left her, and she scoured the crowd, finding him nowhere to be seen. She pushed through the other slow dancing couples, and made her way around, socializing with her friends and peers. _

_Sasuke didn't appear at her side until the end of the night when they were required to stand and thank all the guests, which was about three fourths of the village. It was tiring, but a smile never left Sakura's face, even when it turned from happy to sad. _

Sasuke looked up from his finished scroll and turned to his wife, who was asleep, her head resting on her elbow, the wedding album on the very last page, the only picture snapped of their kiss, which was as always, small and chaste. Sasuke sighed, and closed his scroll, putting it back on the shelf. He cleared up the tea cups and empty plate, putting them in the kitchen sink, and headed back into the living room. He closed the album and replaced it on the book shelf and turned to Sakura's sleeping figure. His hand was poised over her shoulder, aiming to wake her up, but he caught sight at how peaceful she looked.

So, instead, he picked her up and gently put her to bed, before turning on his side away from her, lulling into his own sleep.


	6. VI

Sakura awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside the bedroom window. She got up, stretching loudly, letting a small groan escape her lips. She yawned and looked at the alarm clock, realizing it was almost 9 in the morning. She swung her legs out of bed and massaged her neck, liking down to realize she was still dressed in yesterday's clothes. She frowned.

She must have fallen asleep in the living room last night.

She quickly hopped in the shower, and then made the bed and brushed her teeth, thanking herself over and over for not having any nightmares. She opened the curtains, letting in the sunlight and headed towards the kitchen, deciding that this morning, she was going to make a nice stack of pancakes for breakfast. She jumped when she saw Sasuke sat at the kitchen table, writing in a scroll.

"Oh! Good morning, Sasuke." she walked past him, giving his shoulder a small squeeze, before turning on the stove, and grabbing a pan from the overhead hooks.

"Aa." Sakura smiled and reached into the fridge and cupboard for her ingredients. She began mixing them in a bowl, her back turned from Sasuke. She snuck a peek at the bag of seeds still lying on the counter, relieved that they were still there.

"Aren't you out with Naruto today?"

"He has Hokage training."

"Ah, okay. Well I'll probably head to the market after breakfast. Would you like some pancakes?"

"Hn."

She took that as a yes. She finished a small stack and delivered them on a plate towards Sasuke, who rolled up his scroll and pushed it off to the side of the table. Sakura grabbed the syrup from the fridge, doused her pancakes in it and sat back down at the table, digging in. She looked up, and smiled as she saw that Sasuke was taking a small bite out of his own.

They finished their breakfast, and this time, Sakura thought shockingly, Sasuke did the dishes. She laughed and grabbed her little notepad, and began to make a list of food items to grab at the market.

"Okay I have rice, tomatoes of course, some fruit, ah.. bread, we could use some more meat, perhaps some more pasta, potatoes? Oh and-"

"Butter." He cut her off, as he placed the dishes back in the cupboard. She nodded, writing down the item on her list. She tapped her pencil to her chin and shrugged.

"I think that's it. Is there anything else you need?" He shook his head and drained the sink water. She smiled and nodded, heading out into the hall to slip into her shoes and coat.

"Well alright, I shouldn't be long, and then I'll get started on the garden. If you're still here by the time I get back, I'll make some onigiri."

"Hn." She smiled, and opened the door, throwing her bag over her shoulder. She closed the door behind her, and left the compound, heading towards the market.

While rummaging around the fruits in one of the shops, she ran head on into Hatake Kakashi. She giggled, and gave her old sensei a large, tight hug. She let him go when he realized he was struggling for breath and laughed. He smiled through his mask and ruffled her hair.

"Haven't seen you in a while Sakura. How are things?"

"Great! Just doing a little food shopping. What are you doing here, Kakashi?"

"Ah, shopping for the old wife, you know how Anko gets. She's not even three months pregnant and she expects me to run around for her and feed her everything she requires." Sakura laughed, continuing to pick up her food items. She stole a look at Kakashi. He still looked young, and for a forty-three year old man, he had no wrinkles. It seemed having a baby was working well for him and Anko. She smiled again. She hoped Sasuke would be like this when they had a child.

"So how's Sasuke doing? Still being an ass?" Kakashi teased, and then saw his ex-student's face drop from it's lovely smile. He sputtered and quickly rethought his words. "I'm sorry, Sakura, I didn't mean to-"

Sakura shrugged, a small, sad smile on her lips. "It's okay, Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke is fine. And yes, he still refuses to use any words except 'hn', 'aa', and 'tch', but thanks for trying." She let out a nervous laugh. Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck, and payed for his food items.

"Well I should get going, I have to feed my lovely wife and soon to be son without getting yelled at by said wife and then I've got paperwork with Naruto. But keep in touch, you know where to find me." He used his free arm to hug Sakura warmly, which she returned. She smiled, and nodded happily at the white-haired man.

"Of course! I'll see you soon! Good luck with future-Hokage Naruto!" Kakashi grumbled a string of curses at the name as he walked away and Sakura laughed, resuming her shopping.

* * *

She used her free fingers to open the door to her home and pushed it open with her knee. She kicked the door shut and threw all the bags onto the counter, beginning to unpack them.

"Sasuke, are you home?" She called into the hallway, and resumed her unpacking.

"Aa." Came the response, as he appeared in the doorway, and helped her unpack and put away the food. He snuck a tomato out of the large bunch, which she giggled at, and he leaned against the kitchen table, taking a bite into the juicy fruit. She looked at the oven clock, and gathered up the rice, salt and plums for the onigiri.

"Wow, I didn't know I was gone so long! I guess I'll make us some lunch and then I'll do the garden." She began to prepare the food, and headed over to the knife rack, her hand stopped in midair, staring at the bowl of fruit perched on the edge of the counter. Her lips parted.

"Oh." She murmured. Wait, she hadn't brought any lemons-

"They needed picking." She turned towards her husband, and finally she realized where they came from. She tried to picture Uchiha Sasuke outside, harvesting fruit from a tree, but couldn't, and she laughed lightly. A small frown formed on Sasuke's features as he finished his tomato and wiped his mouth. Sakura turned back away from him with the knife and continued to make lunch.

"Well, thank you for picking them, they needed it, they were so ripened, they were falling on the ground to rot."

"Hn."

"I can put a slice in some tea, that would be lovely. Or I could bake a lemon meringue for my parents, I haven't seen them since the wedding."

"Aa."

"Oh! Sasuke! I ran into Kakashi-sensei at the market! It's crazy isn't it? I can't believe he married Anko, I mean they're a cute couple, I just can't believe she's going to have a son. Imagine a child with Kakashi sensei's hair and Anko's temper!" Sakura's eyes closed momentarily, and her lips lit up in a warm, but sad smile. Oh Kami, how she wanted to be like Anko, round and full of life. But it seemed, until Sasuke could really open up to her, and she wasn't forever stressing over these nightmares, she wouldn't be getting pregnant.

She noticed that Sasuke hadn't said anything, and chose to ignore it. She figured that (or more like hoped that) he wanted a child as much as she, and he was eager to start his family. She blushed, her mind suddenly filling with images of their sex. She shook her head to rid the thoughts and served up the small onigiri on the table.

They ate in silence, and after Sakura finished, and put the plates in the sink, she reached over to the packet of seeds still in the bag. She pulled out the small container, and read the instructions.

"One cup of water per five seeds, leave in sunlight, plant 3 inches down in soil.. sounds easy enough." She laughed, and headed out out of the kitchen, towards the back door. She stepped out onto the porch and breathed in the fresh air, before closing the door behind her. Peeling open the seed packed, Sakura placed it on the outdoor table, and went over to retrieve some water, and a small shovel. She bent down in the grass and began to turn over the soil and create small holes to plant the seeds in. She heard the screen door open, and Sasuke emerged, book in hand. He sat down on the bench and opened it, beginning to read. Sakura smiled, happy to have a silent companion, and started to sing.

When she finally had planted the seeds and watered them, she stood up, brushing off her dirty, uncovered knees. She picked up the packet, reading it again.

"About three months before the bushes come in, and a little more for the full bloom." She commented to herself, putting the now empty packed on the table.

"Hn."

She stared out over the deck and into the spacious garden, fenced around with tall bushes, that looked over grown. She looked at the small walkway and the fountain in the center, putting her hands on her hips. She let out a small sigh.

"It'll take a while, but this place will be beautiful." She nodded to herself and sat down next to Sasuke on the bench. She wiped a hand across her sweaty forehead, and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. Before she started to doze off, she stood back up, stretching. She looked towards the garden, and decided to tame those overgrown bushes. She headed over to the small shed, and brushed out some of the dust. She took out a pair of shears, and her she made eye contact with the bushes, her eyes narrowing. She raised the shears.

"You're goin' down!" She whispered, and began to prune the bushes, ignoring Sasuke's obvious smirk from behind her.

* * *

After her victory in her battle with the overgrown bushes (now cut perfectly and edged), Sakura cleaned up and headed inside, deciding to make rice porridge for a light dinner. It was 6:30 by the same she and Sasuke had sat down, said their thanks, and began to eat. They finished dinner, and Sakura began doing the dishes. She had just finished up, when she turned around to clean up and almost collided with Sasuke's chest. She looked up at her husband in question.

"Is everything alright?" She reached out a hand to place on his forehead, finding it a bit warm. He was just staring down at her, his hands at his sides. She looked into his eyes, finding nothing, as usual.

"Hn. What time are you at work?" She almost gaped. Had he actually _asked_ her a question? That had been a first. She swallowed and looked back up at him.

"Er... not until 8, why do you ask-"

She was cut off when his arms flew out to trap her against the counter, his hands gripping the edges. His head lowered swiftly and placed the all too familiar chaste kiss on her lips before pulling away. Sakura blushed, feeling entrapped brought back memories of the bathroom incident days ago. She swallowed, and pursed her lips as Sasuke's left hers. Then her mind started to realize what was happening.

Oh. _Oh. OH. __  
_

She blushed deeper, but Sasuke's left hand was at the top buttons of her shirt, undoing them swiftly and quietly. He gently tugged the material, letting it fall to the floor, his hands reaching down to the button of her jean shorts. She gulped, her hands shaking as she lifted her hands to cup his neck, as usual, but his hand to her wrist stopped her. He placed her hand on the waistband of his jeans, and reached behind him, pulling his shirt up and over his head.

Her hand shakingly undid the button of his jeans, then the zipper, and pulled the material down, not waiting to hear it fall to the floor with her other garments. Speaking of which, her jeans were already on the floor. She squeezed her thighs together, trying not to look down at her husband's dark boxers and the outline of his.. she blushed, not finishing her sentence and undid her bra, letting it fall onto the other discarded clothes. It didn't take him long to rid them of the rest of their clothes, and to set Sakura on the counter, where she had just earlier been chopping tomatoes. She wrapped her arms around her husband's neck, and buried her face in his shoulder as he entered her.

Though this was different from the other times, (_Kami, they were having sex in the kitchen!) _it was as if the same old Sasuke had returned. He didn't meet her eyes as he moved against her, his usual pants and grunts forming in his mouth. Sakura closed her eyes, choosing to just enjoy the moment, and ignored the face that she was on the kitchen counter, her legs wrapped around Sasuke's waist tightly. He used one hand (as usual) to brace himself, while the other gripped the back of her knee.

They finished in sync, Sasuke panting, and Sakura biting her lip, letting out a light shudder. Then she was alone, sitting on the counter, quite naked. Sasuke picked up his clothes, put on his jeans, and disappeared into the house. She didn't bother listening for sounds of where he went, but instead jumped gingerly off the counter, and bent to pick up her clothes. She headed straight to the bathroom, and took a shower, now fully aware that she only had half an hour to get ready for work. She dressed, and did her makeup, before heading back into the kitchen. She was already blushing deeply as she stared at the kitchen counter.

Not really knowing how to.. deal with the aftermath of such a situation, she cleaned up, and tidied the kitchen. She locked up, gathered her bag and keys, and decided to take the long way in the cool air outside to clear her mind. She slipped into her shoes and coat, and hesitated at the door, biting her lip. She realized she should say something to her husband, to let him know she was leaving, but words escaped her mind. So she bowed her head, embarrassed and left the compound quickly and quietly.

She wondered if Naruto had been having a few talks with Sasuke about these things.

* * *

Sakura yawned, stretching herself as much as possible in her office chair. So far, she had only had one surgery today, a late night surgery to remove a tumor from a kind-spirited old woman. Thank Kami it had been a success. Sakura stood up, and walked over to her little coffee maker (she needed them here as much as at home), and poured herself out a cup. She took a slip, grimaced, and jumped when her phone rang. She answered it, popping back down in her chair, propping up her legs on her desk.

"Doctor Haruno speaking." She answered, and heard a loud laugh. She knew instantly who it was.

"Oh come on, Sakura! That's no way to answer a call to a friend." Tenten teased, and there was a faint rustling over the line, a bang, and then a girlish scream. Sakura's eyes widened. Was that-

"Sorry Sak, Naruto is here with Hinata and he just tried to make me hang up on you, the little bastard." Sakura laughed, and bid Naruto hello, hearing him scream back his answer in the background. Tenten screamed back for him to shut up, and she could hear Hinata giggling.

"What's up, Ten?"

"Ah, well I thought I would just give you a call, I assumed you were on your break, but I would have left a message. You'll be getting an invitation in the mail soon, buuut... Neji and I set the date for our wedding!" Sakura heard the squeals over the line from her and Hinata and then Naruto joined in, making a chorus of out of tuned voices. Sakura giggled, and smiled. Her eyes quickly drifted to her own wedding photo, but then she snapped her eyes back to her coffee mug. She took a sip.

"That's amazing, Ten, I'm so glad. When is it?"

"Two months! I know it's a bit hasty, but we've been planning for months, we were just waiting for Neji's parents approval. And now they've agreed since Neji recieved his Jounin achievements and grants, so it'll be in the Autumn, when all the blossoms are falling! How romantic, eh?"

"Sounds great! Who's the head bridesmaid? Oh and the best man?"

"I asked Hinata to be my head, since she is Neji's cousin, and Neji asked Lee. Naruto was a little pissed, I think he's trying to set a record for most times being a best man, but he's still in the bridal party! And of course, you, Ino, and Temari will be my bridesmaids, and I got Neji to finally give in and ask Sasuke to be in his groom party."

Sakura smiled. "I'd love to! And I would love to see that conversation." Tenten laughed.

"Right? It'll start with 'hn' and end with more 'hns'. But don't tell Sasuke about the groom thing, I want him to be surprised when Neji asks him!"

"Alright fine! But I will mention the wedding, and I can't wait to get the invitation. Anything specific you want for your wedding gift?" There was a pause, before Tenten answered, and it sounded like she was thinking hard. Then she suddenly let out a long giggle.

"Well I know what Ino's present to me will be. Kami, she already asked Neji for his favorite color!"

The two girls erupted into a fit of giggles, and Sakura began thinking of a gift she could get the couple. She was interrupted by a short knock on her office door. She sat up right in her chair and addressed her friend on the phone.

"Gotta go, duty calls. Can't wait for the invitation, Ten! Tell everyone I said hello! I'll talk to you later." The two big goodbye, and Sakura hung up the phone, calling for the person to enter the room. Shizune popped her head in, a pleasant smile on her features.

"Sorry to bother you, Sakura-san, but we have a little boy down in room 2C with a sprained leg and a bruised nose. I know how you like to take care of the children so..." Sakura smiled, and stood up, stretching. She was happy to be on her feet, and even happier to heal a child.

"I'll be right down. What's his name?"

"Nara Shin."

Sakura's eyes widened, as she hurried her footsteps towards the room holding Ino and Shikamaru's son.

* * *

Ino and Shikamaru had been the first couple of Sakura's agre group to get married, but their situation was quiet different from the other couples. The two had been dating since they were sixteen, and at the age of seventeen, Ino got pregnant. They had the child out of wedlock, but as soon as both Ino and Shikamaru were eighteen, the two decided to marry. At the time, Sasuke had just began what Sakura had called courting (only it really wasn't) Sakura, so when she was invited to be Ino's head bridesmaid, she asked Sasuke to attend the wedding with her as her date. However, Sasuke flatly declined with the short explanation that he did not attend such events. So instead Sakura had quickly asked Lee to escort her.

Sakura slowly opened the door to Room 2C and was immediately bombarded in hugs from Ino and a pat on the back from Shikamaru. Sakura hugged her best friend back, and pulled away, bending down to get eye level with their son.

"What happened, baby?" She looked at the little boy, but he was clutching his leg, and tears streamed down his face. He refused to talk, so Sakura looked towards Ino, who looked away guiltily. Shikamaru placed an arm around his wife and kissed her head. Sakura bit her lip, ignored their public display of affection, and waited for Ino to speak. She swallowed heavily.

"He fell down on the swing. Gah, I feel so bad! Shikamaru was still out on a mission, and the phone rang, so I popped in doors quickly to grab it, and I heard a thud, and Shin was on the ground crying." She put an arm around her son, kissing his head gently. Sakura smiled and patted her arm.

"No harm done," she bent back down and addressed Shin, her voice light and happy, "when I was little, I used to fall off of things all the time, Shin!" He pouted and licked his lips.

"Reawwy?" Sakura nodded and poked his nose, causing him to giggle. Ino sighed out in relief.

"Thank god you're on a shift, Sakura, I was going to heal it at home, but his leg is sprained, so I don't want to do anything wrong." Sakura waved her hand towards her friend, and placed her hand over Shin's leg. She lay the little almost three year old down and looked at him, smiling gently.

"Will you let me make your leg feel better, Shin?" He nodded quickly, and Sakura smiled, applying a small amount of chakra to heal the muscles of his leg. Within minutes, he was already kicking his legs about and giggling. Ino, relieved, fell back against her husband's embrace and smiled warmly at her best friend.

"I owe you one, Sak."

"No biggie. Lets get you guys checked out and on home." Shikamaru squeezed her arm in thanks, and the two exchanged smiles. She hugged Ino once more, and helped them out the door, towards the check out desk in the lobby. She and Ino had both forgotten about the promise Ino made to speak to Sakura for Sasuke. Which was good, because right now Sakura's throat felt tight, and she quickly fled back to her office. She shut the door and slid down to the ground, letting her tears fall onto her doctors coat. She let out a sob.

Why couldn't she have a life like that?

_Kami, she wanted a child so bad. _


	7. VII

**A/N: **_If you wanna get into the mood for this chapter, just legit listen to Justin Timberlake's "Mirrors" on repeat._

* * *

After the incident with Ino and Shikamaru's son, Sakura had spent another half an hour in her office, trying to pull herself together. She had wiped her eyes, cleaned up her clothes, and headed out towards the break room in the back of the hospital. She grabbed a small fruit bowl from the fridge and sat down to munch on it slowly, her mind wandering.

She was envious of Ino and Shikamaru's marriage, of Kakashi's marriage, Shizune's and everyone else's relationship.

_It wasn't fair_.

She wanted to come home from work to her husband, to a hug, a kiss, and a conversation, most of all. She wanted to be able to sit down on her day off and talk to someone. She wanted to be able to walk around town with her hand intertwined in her husbands, she wanted public displays of affection. She wanted to be round with life, and a husband who paid attention to her needs, and took care of her, like Kakashi, like Shikamaru, like _Naruto._

She wanted to feel like she was loved, and not just something to come home to everyday that made meals, and cleaned up the house.

She irritably wiped the tears from her eyes, and thanked Kami that the break room was empty. She continued thinking, chewing on a strawberry.

She wanted to see her parents again. She wanted to be able to visit her mother and father with her husband, to be able to have dinners with the four of them, chatting and laughing. Making memories.

She wanted intimacy. She was fed up of this cold... _fucking _(who was she kidding? She and Sasuke had never made love) she let herself get into, getting her hopes up that this was really what she needed from Sasuke, what she needed to feel loved, and what she needed to get pregnant. She gagged, swallowing her strawberry heavily and shoving the rest of the fruit bowl away from her, feeling sick.

She wanted a honeymoon, three weeks to herself and her husband, full of romance and love. She wanted a wedding where she danced around happily with her husband, and had fun with her friends all night. She wanted a photo of her marriage where both of them were smiling, happy and ready to start their life together. She wanted a wedding night, filled with awkward, but romantic love, and warmth. She wanted to be embraced after sex, and when she slept, and when she came home and every time in between.

Sakura pushed back her thoughts, and picked up her fruit bowl, throwing away the left overs. She headed back into her office, intending to hide from everyone until her shift ended in two hours. She felt more tears fall down her face, but she ignored them when she closed her office door behind her.

She decided to lay down on her couch, and take a nap, filled with fantasies of the life and marriage she wanted, to get away from the shithole of a marriage she had.

* * *

She walked home from work that morning with her coat open, hair loose as she took out her ponytail. She let the cold wind hit her as she walked, her hands moving unconsciously to grab her house keys out of her bag as she approached the household. Without thinking, she pushed open the door, slipped out of her coat and shoes and put down her bag. She walked down the hallway, and stopped, looking into the kitchen, seeing that the coffee maker was on, ready for her. She laughed bitterly, but quietly and unplugged it, and headed to the bathroom. She snuck in, and washed her face, brushed her teeth and headed into the bedroom. She undressed, and threw on a pair of sweats and a shirt and turned towards the bed and stopped.

Sasuke was on his side, as usual turned away from her, and her keen shinobi ears heard his light breathing. She snuck over to her side of the bed, and grabbed the pillow and left the bedroom, closing the door behind her. She grabbed the thick blanket from the hall linen cupboard and headed into the living room. She plopped down, adjusted herself on the pillows and pulled the blanket around her.

She closed her eyes.

Right now, even a nightmare wouldn't scare her.

* * *

Sasuke awoke a few hours later, and stretched his muscles. He sat on the edge of the bed and frowned. He turned towards the bed and saw that Sakura was not on her side. Also, there was a pillow missing. He pulled on a shirt, adjusted his sleep pants and peered in the bathroom, and then headed down the hallway. He stopped at the living room, seeing a mass of pink hair flowing out from under the blankets.

He frowned.

Why hadn't she come to bed? Usually she plopped right down next to him, and passed out; he didn't mind being woken up to hear her sneak into the bed beside him. She made a small noise, and snuggled closer into the blanket. Sasuke closed the living room screen door ajar and walked into the kitchen.

By his quick analysis, she hadn't had her usual cup of coffee before coming home, and the coffee marker had been turned off. He turned it back on and put two pieces of toast into the toaster. He sat down at the table, looking around him.

Before Sakura moved in, much of his furniture had been bare, the table had nothing on it but scrolls, counters only held the toaster and coffee maker, walls with minimal pictures, and bookshelves half empty. But when Sakura moved all of her things in, every room came to life. She placed flowers in the kitchen windsill, papers, notes and pens on the table, medical books and novels on the bookshelves, and wedding photos on the walls. The Uchiha compound finally looked lived in.

He stared at her little calendar, hanging on the wall. This month's picture was of a beach sunset, with pinks and reds casting over the sand. Sasuke stared at the little x's once more. It was almost the end of the month, and the last x had been about a week ago. He almost jumped when the toast popped up int he toaster. He stood up, placing the pieces on a plate and poured himself a cup of coffee. He sat back down at the table and ate the toast dry.

When he was done, he cleaned up the dishes, but left the coffee maker on for Sakura when she woke up. He went back to the bathroom to take a quick shower before changing into his black, training gear. He left the compound to go for a run and do some training.

* * *

Sakura rolled around on the couch, and stretched. She opened her eyes and looked on the wall for the pretty little clock she had brought from her apartment. 1 pm. She stretched and stood up, folding up the blanket, everything from last night and this morning flooding back to her. She placed the blanket back in the linen closet and threw her pillow back on the bed. She hopped into the shower, brushed her teeth and changed into a hoodie. She went to pull on a pair of shorts and then hesitated.

Today was too hot, and today was a lazy, no pants day, she agreed and chucked her shorts back in the drawer. Either way, the hoodie came down to her mid thigh. She pulled her hair into a messy bun and headed into the kitchen. She hopped up onto the counter, a habit of hers was sitting on the counter, and then hopped off again. She remembered what had happened last time she was sat on a counter.

She sighed heavily, and poured herself a cup of coffee, not even bother to acknowledge that Sasuke had left it on for her and sat at the table.

She heard the clink of the mailbox go, and she jumped up. Perhaps Tenten's invitation had come. Usually, she left Sasuke to get the mail because if she received any mail, it came to her office mailbox. And as Mrs. Uchiha, she had no bills to pay. She flung open the front door and ran outside, flinging open the mailbox. She pulled out two small letters, and looked at the names on the letters.

_Mr. Sasuke Uchiha_, she read and grumbled. She brought the letters in and placed them on the kitchen table, standing them up for him to see. She finished her coffee and made herself a quick sandwich, before heading out into the garden. She watered her Azalea seeds and inspected the cracked walkway. She headed back inside, hating the heat of the day, and sat back in the living room. She really wished they had a tv. Sakura made a mental note to order one under her new name for the house later.

She headed over to the stereo player, and gingery opened the CD box, half expecting there to be another blank CD in there, but it was empty. She sighed out in relief, and headed over to her CD collection, picking out a favorite from her teenage years. She plopped the CD in and pushed play, hearing the familiar boys voice flow from the stereo. She smiled and turned the volume up, until the entire house echoed with the boy band's music. She sang along (rather well if she could say so herself) and began to bob up and down in a dance.

By the time she was tired of dancing, it was already six. Her stomach rumbled, and she turned off her CD and walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge boredly. She slammed it shut again.

"I don't feel like cooking."

She shrugged to herself and decided that she would go to Ichiraku's. Alone. She needed to spend sometime with herself right now. And Sasuke could fend for himself for one night, she was sure. I mean, he had done it for ten years before, right? She wrote a curt note out to tell him where she was going and headed upstairs, deciding to get dressed up a little. She pulled on her nicest pair of jeans and a silk tank top, adding a thin cardigan. She took her time curling her hair, and put on some heavier make-up, and headed out the door, not looking back.

She ignored the glances she got as she walked down the street to Ichiraku's, and ignored the whispers.

_Isn't that Lady Sakura Uchiha?_

_Sakura looks so pretty. Where is her husband?_

_Do you think they're having a fight?_

_Probably. I mean she is married to Sasuke, right?_

Sakura laughed at the last one, as she popped under the half curtain to Ichiraku's and plopped down on the bar stool. She said hello to the couple and ordered a large bowl of ramen. After she finished, rubbing her stomach in a Naruto like fashion, she decided to pop across the street and into the small tavern. She ordered a bottle of sake. She hadn't drunk any alcohol since her wedding, where she had sipped wine.

Sakura wasn't an alcoholic. She knew what kind of bad things it did to one's body, so she only drank on occasions. And tonight was an occasion.

Sakura also, was never one to get sloppy or loud when she was drunk (which had only been twice). Ino was the one who danced on tables and sung at the top of her lungs, Tenten was the loudmouth and the clutz, Hinata was the giggler, and Sakura was the quiet blusher. Her cheeks would turn red, and she would remain quiet, but also slightly giggly when she heard someone talk.

She couldn't remember how many bottles she had had, probably 3 or 4, but she knew she was drunk. And she didn't care. When the bartender came up to her to ask her if she was okay she giggled and nodded. When a man tried to hit on her, he laughed and took another swing of the sake. Unlike her mentor, Tsunade, Sakura did not have the highest tolerance for alcohol. She could drink a bottle or two and be okay, but three was getting on the drunk side.

She laughed again and played with her hair, resuming her chat with the other person next to her. Some woman who owned a tea shop. She mentioned that her own parents owned a tea store, and proceeded to have a giggly, fuzzy conversation with the woman.

Then she heard her husbands, cold, but slightly worried voice outside the tavern. He entered and pushed his way past all of the customers, standing in front of the bar, gripping the counter.

"Where's my wife, Uchiha Sakura?" Sakura giggled, holding her hand over her mouth to hide herself from him. He had never called her that before. Let alone acknowledged that she was his wife. The bartender, scared by Sasuke's scary glare, pointed a shaky finger towards Sakura's booth in the corner. She giggled again before a hand flew out to take the bottle of sake from her. She tried to protest, but her tongue went fuzzy. Instead, she giggled, and tried to stand up. She did so and wobbly headed past her husband and towards the exit, thanking the still scared bartender as she did.

A hand gripped her arm and pulled her back against his chest.

"Sakura." He said gruffly. She tried to pull herself out of his embrace, still slightly giggly.

"No, Sasuke-kun, I don't want to goo.." Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at the suffix, but he remained frowning. He put a hand to his wife's waist, leading her out of the bar and into the crowded street, ignoring her attempts at getting away. She continued to pull at him, her waist escaping his grasp. He frowned deeper.

"Sakura, stop." She pouted and tried to pull away from him again.

"No, I don't want to." She kept trying to pull out of his grasp. He was beginning to get agitated, especially with all the people staring now and whispering among themselves.

_That's Uchiha Sasuke._

_Ooh, they were having a fight! She must be drunk._

_Do you think she'll forgive him?_

_She looks like she probably won't._

"Sakura." He gritted his teeth, and tried to control his breathing, as his grip became gentler on her wrist, but still tight. He tried to calm down his voice.

"Sakura, why don't you come home and get some sleep?" He said, gentler this time and reached out to hold her waist. His fingers were almost on the material of her shirt when she let out a short, bitter laugh, her face turning to him, looking like a beautiful, flaming goddess. Her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol.

"Oh yeah?" She countered, her eyes looking angry. "Well, why don't you kiss me when you _fuck _me, Uchiha?"

The crowd went quiet, and Sasuke's eyes widened. All of the words left his lips, and his hands were motionless in the air. He took in a breath and then exhaled. Before the crowd could start whispering again to end the quiet moment, Sasuke grabbed his wife, picking her up bridal style, ignoring her struggles, and disappeared in a poof of clouds from the street.

He set Sakura down in the hallway of their house and headed towards the bathroom. He closed the door behind him, leaving Sakura standing in the hallway. Her fast immune system began working, and she slowly pulled out of her drunken state. She rubbed her eyes and headed into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. She couldn't remember any of what just happened, the last thing she remembered was her second bottle of sake. She gulped down the water and two aspirin and took off her heels, rubbing her feet. She could hear the shower running, so she headed to the bedroom and stripped down to her panties.

She reached for her brush and combed her tangled hair and removed her makeup. She let out a groan and smacked her head lightly on the wall. Why had she been an idiot and gone and gotten drunk? She was going to ask Sasuke what happened when he got out the bathroom. She swallowed the bitter taste of sake in her mouth and gagged.

She closed her eyes, while she waited, and focused her chakra into ridding herself of all the alcohol. By the time the water had stopped running, Sakura had cleared her thoughts up and felt a bit better. She sat on the edge of her side of the bed and waited for the door to the bathroom to open. Sasuke walked out, clad only in a towel, and moved swiftly past her, silent.

He dropped the towel and changed into a pair of pajama pants and Sakura watched him, her eyes staring at his naked back and buttocks, this time, not blushing.

"Sasuke-" She started, but bit her lip. She didn't know what to say. "I'm- What happened back ther-"

She was cut off by a curt and harsh laugh.

"You mean you can't remember?" His retort came out bitterly. She looked down at her hands, guiltily. She shook her head, feeling him sit on his side of the bed.

"No, I can't." She answered honestly. She turned back to him, her eyes coming in contact with the back of his head.

"Tch." Is all he said, before he laid down, his back to her, and his breathing became shallow. She bit her lip harder, and stood up, moving into the bathroom. She shut the door behind her quietly and sat on the toilet, pulling her knees up to her naked chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and began to cry.

Whatever she had said to Sasuke, it wasn't good.

* * *

When she awoke from the bed, groggy, the next morning, Sasuke was gone, and she felt like shit. She took a shower and gagged into the toilet to rid herself of any leftover alcohol in her system. Then she called in sick to work, claiming to have a migraine, but promised to be in bright and early the next morning. She spent the entire day in the kitchen, alone, preparing a lemon meringue for her parents. Later that afternoon she made Sasuke a small dinner, left out the instructions for heating, and departed the house, pie in hand.

When she got to her parents, she was greeted with warm hugs and kisses. Her mother wiped a few tears from her eyes.

"Isn't Sasuke-san with you, Sakura, honey?"

"He's on a mission." Sakura lied swiftly. To be honest, she had no clue where he was, nor did she really want to find out. She had dinner with her parents, her favorite chicken curry, and noticed her father was silent the entire meal, except after they had sat down on the couch after, all with pieces of pie.

"Is he treating you okay, Sakura?" She looked up at her dad, shocked at how quietly he had asked the question. She bit her lip and nodded.

"Perfect gentleman. He took me out to eat at the Dual Dragons last week, and we've been working on planting Azaleas in the garden and fixing the loose stones." Well she hadn't lied abut the first part. Her mother smiled warmly, and her father remained silent, eating another piece of his pie.

"That sounds lovely, honey." Sakura nodded.

She caught her parents up on how she was doing at work, the details of Tenten and Neji's wedding, running into Kakashi and Anko's pregnancy, Tsunade's hair clip, everything. Everything except what she really wanted to say about the crumbling in her marriage. She bit her lip and finished her stories with a fake smile.

She left her parents house late that night, feeling a little better. She walked home and opened the door slowly, closing it quietly behind her. She headed into the kitchen, ignoring the fact that the house was completely dark and uninhabited. She flicked on the kitchen light and saw that Sasuke's dinner was still sat on the counter. She hastily dumped it into the trashcan, and stood against the table, looking at the plate in her hand.

Before she could stop herself she pulled her arm back, and using her monstrous strength, lunged the plate at the nearby wall.

"_FUCKING SHIT!"_

She crumpled against the fridge and let out another sob, laying her head in her arms on her knees. She sat there, sobbing for twenty minutes, before wiping away her tears, cleaning herself up and standing. She took a deep breath and cleaned up the plate pieces with a broom dumping them in the trashcan to cover the leftover food. then she sat down at the kitchen table and stared at the wall she had just thrown the plate at.

She waited for her husband to come home.

* * *

It was another hour before the door opened and closed silently. She continued staring at the wall, hearing the footsteps get closer and then pass by the kitchen.

"Sasuke." She said, not taking her eyes off the wall. She heard the footsteps stop near the living room. Then they started again, slowly fading, walking away.

_No._

_He would not just walk away from her like this._

"_SASUKE!" _She screamed and stood up. She heard nothing, not even a hitch in breathing, no footsteps, nothing. Then, came his usual sound from the doorway.

"Aa."

She let the tears stream down her face, and she turned to him, her eyes searching his face, knowing they would find nothing. Like usual. He continued to look at her, waiting, his hands by his sides. She ignored the cuts, scrapes and bruises covering his exposed skin, and the fact that his knuckles were bleeding profusely and beginning to drip on the floor.

She flew at him, at first with her fist aimed his face, but then she stopped. She watched as her tears hit the ground, mixing with the small drops of his blood. Her eyes shut, as she let out another sob, and her hands gripped the front of his shirt, her forehead against his chest. She continued to cry, letting her sobs vibrate through his chest.

"I'm sorry", she said, "I'm so sorry...I'm sorry..." She kept saying it over and over, letting her sobs drown out the words turning them into useless sounds.

Then she was enveloped in his strong, warm embrace. She tried to calm down her sobs, her chest heaving against him. She unclenched her fists from his shirt and placed her palms against his warm chest. He picked her up, and her legs wrapped around his waist, and he carried her towards the bedroom. He set her down on the bed, but she wrapped her arms around his neck, unwilling to let him go. He slowly pulled her arms away, and stripped himself of his shinobi gear and shirt, grimacing at his cuts and bruises.

Sakura finally noticed his state and wiped her eyes and took in a deep breath. She let him sit down on the bed before standing between his knees and taking care of his wounds. He continued looking down, his bangs hiding his eyes. She closed up his cuts and fixed his bruises, and his arm snaked around her waist, pulling her into the bed with him. He tucked her into his chest as he lay on his back, and she closed her eyes, still feeling tears come to her eyes.

He let out a deep sigh.

"So annoying."

* * *

_In Sakura's dream this time, there was no terror, and no bloodshed. It was just her, and Sasuke. She was stood between his thighs as he sat on the bed. He stripped her of her clothes and his own, laid her down on the bed and kissed her lovingly. He let her tears fall onto his neck as she wound her arms around him and he slowly made love to her, gently, and sweetly. _


	8. VIII

Sakura waited at the kitchen table for he audible clink of the mailbox once more. She was eager to get that invitation. The moment she heard it, she flew out of her seat and ran out the door, slowing to a halt in front of the metal box. She opened it, pulled out a small pile of mail and closed it. She walked back towards the house, sorting through the mail. She finally saw a small envelope with both of their names on it and squealed.

"Cha! Finally it gets here!"

On her way to her office, she placed Sasuke's mail on the table, and then seated herself at her desk. She opened the envelope gently and looked at the white and gold invitation. She opened it quickly, her eyes scanning the information.

_Neji and Tenten Hyuuga would like to formally invite Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha to attend their wedding ceremony.._

Sakura held the card to her chest and smiled. She placed it down on her desk and pulled out the small rsvp card. She signed her name and Sasuke's and checked the _Attending_ box. She sealed the envelope and placed it in her bag to mail on her way to work. Then she went back into the kitchen and stood the invitation up on the table where Sasuke would see it, and hopefully (and probably grudgingly) agree to attend. She had already signed his name anyways.

She was about to reach up to get a cookie from the box in the cupboard, when the phone rang in the hallway. She jumped and went to answer it.

"Mrs. Uchiha." She might as well use her name a little bit more. She heard a feminine laugh on the other end of the phone.

"Jesus, Sakura, when Tenten said that you answered the phone formally, she wasn't lying. I mean seriously, 'Mrs. Uchiha'? You're proud to be it I see." Sakura let out an awkward laugh and rubbed her neck.

"Well hello to you too, Ino."

"Hey pinky. Is Sasuke there?" Sakura frowned. ,

"Uhm no, he's out on an ANBU mission for the day, why, what's up?"

"Nothing. Wanna come over and hang out? Shikamaru is out with Chouji and Shin, so I thought maybe we could get down some girl time."

Sakura froze. _Shit_, she thought, realizing what this was about. She had almost forgotten overhearing Ino's promise to Sasuke to talk to her. She bit her lip and sighed. She guessed that she should come clean about the nightmares she'd been having. And if it was just her and Ino, she could trust that it stayed between the two of them. Hopefully Ino wouldn't tell Sasuke.

"Sure, I'll be there in ten minutes." She looked at the clock in the hallway.

"Bring some lemons, Shimaru showed me how to make a mean margarita the other day." Sakura bit her lip again. The last time she got drunk it turned out awful and she ended up making Sasuke mad. But she figured that she wouldn't be alone, and one drink couldn't hurt.

"Fine fine. See you soon, Ino-pig." She hung up before her best friend could remark back and headed towards her room to get dressed.

* * *

She had only been sat in Ino's living room for five minutes before Ino flounced out the kitchen, holding two, large margarita glasses. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Kami, you alcoholic." She muttered and Ino stopped dead in her tracks, glaring at Sakura.

"What did you say, pinky?" The two glared at each other before starting to laugh and Ino handed her a drink, plopping down on the couch next to her. The two sipped their drinks in silence before Ino took a breath and sat her drink down on the coffee table. She turned to her friend.

"Sakura, is everything okay? Like in your life, with Sasuke. Are you.. are you doing okay?" Sakura shrugged and put her glass down next to Ino's, trying to pretend that she didn't know what the blonde was talking about.

"What do you mean?" Ino bit her lip.

"It's just.. ah... oh Kami, fuck it", she took a deep breath and continued, "Sasuke came into my store one night the other week and he told me that you had a nightmare and woke up and were scared of him. And then he said something about you not coming back to bed, and being- well acting.. weird I guess?" Ino looked at her friend, waiting for Sakura to answer. Sakura let out a small sigh and accepted that Ino had told her what Sasuke did.

"Sasuke and I have an... odd marriage. It's rocky. I speak to him, he responds in grunts. I cook for him, do the laundry, clean the house, and he just... leaves and comes back every day. I don't know where he goes, and I don't know when he'll come back until he does. It's driving me insane, Ino. Some days it's almost like a regular marriage, almost, without the talking, we have wonderful sex, and he treats me nicely, and then the next minute the sex is just him fucking me, or I do something wrong and he instantly leaves without saying a word. I never know what to say, how to say it, or if what I do even so much as affects him. It's like walking on eggshells I can't even see until I step on one and hurt myself."

She sighs, and continues.

"And the dreams, well nightmares, I honestly don't know. They're gory as hell, and they won't go away. They've been happening since Sasuke 'proposed' to me. I-I just keep seeing myself through his eyes, getting killed by him and thrown aside as if I'm nothing. And you know that when we were younger, and I tried bringing him back, he tried killing me a few times, and it's really affected me. I feel like I don't even know the man I married. Mostly because he's just this big box of unopened secrets and I don't have a key."

"Basically every nightmare is this: blood, people dead, myself injured and then Sasuke appears, usually with his Sharingan activated and stabs me, or kills me with his Chidori. Which is why, on the night he was talking about, I freaked out. I was still stuck in the nightmare, so when he activated his Sharingan on instinct to make sure I was okay, I panicked and knew I had to get away from him to clear my mind."

She then proceeded to tell Ino everything that had happened in the last week, including everything about her envy of everyone's happy lives and marriages and her desire to have a child. She finished her sentence, and looked away from Ino, letting the blonde take in everything she had just said. Sakura reached for her drink and took a large gulp, before setting it back down. She looked back at her best friend, finding her on the verge of tears.

"S-Sakura I- I don't know what to say-"

"You could help me get rid of my nightmares." Sakura offered, laughing bitterly. She realized what she had said and sighed, pulling her friend in for a hug.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put all of this on you. You have your own happy life to get on with, you don't need me dumping my marriage problems all over you."

"Do you trust him?" Sakura pulled back from Ino, biting her lip. She was almost taken aback from the question. She looked at the opposite wall of Ino's small living room and sighed. She thought about her answer carefully, before responding.

"No, Ino. I really don't."

"Are you scared of him?" Sakura knew this was her psychologist position kicking in. She decided to open up and just answer truthfully.

"Yes."

"Why, Sakura?"

"Because..." Sakura trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. Ino waited for a minute, but when her friend didn't continue, Ino leand towards her friend, attempting to urge her on.

"Because?"

"Because..." Sakura tried again, but still couldn't find a valid answer. She frowned, becoming slightly agitated with herself. Why was she afraid of Sasuke?

"Because what, Sakura? You have to answer the question."

Sakura bit her lip harder. _Because.._

"Because I never know what he's thinking. I'm afraid of Sasuke because he's my husband and I know nothing about him. He a stranger. I'm scared of him because I open myself up to him, and I just feel naked." She blinked, trying to hold back her tears, but they fell down her cheeks anyways. '_  
_

"Sakura.."

"I'm scared of Sasuke because I'm in love with him. I'm scared of him because the same man that tried to kill me many times now shares the same bed as I and the same home." She choked back a sob, and felt Ino wrap her arms around Sakura, pulling her into an embrace. Sakura hugged her back and finally let out a small sob.

"Kami, I hate this feeling. I wish I hadn't married such a block of ice." She said between tears. Ino stroked her hair in a motherly way.

"Somewhere under all that ice, Sakura, is a warm heart-"

"Oh that's complete and utter _bullshit,_ Ino, and you and I both know it." Sakura pulled away from her friends, wiping her eyes. "There's no fucking warm heart anywhere in that man. There's nothing." Ino bit her lip, looking worriedly at her best friend.

"Sakura-"

"I think it's time I got home. Sasuke will be home soon and I need to make some dinner for the two of us."

"Sakura, I-"

"Ino, let's just forget this happened. It was too much for me to say, and perhaps I'm just kidding myself. Go on with your happy life and your happy marriage and leave me to my awful one." Before Ino could protest, Sakura pulled the door closed to Ino's house behind her, and made her way down the street. She huffed out a breath and wiped her eyes.

She was starting to remember why she began bottling up her feelings in the first place.

* * *

She finally arrived home, and found the compound empty. She sighed in relief and began to make a small meal for her and Sasuke. She was about to put it back in the oven to keep it warm, when the front door opened. She heard footsteps, and he was in the doorway of the kitchen, clad in ANBU gear and the mask on the top of his head. He crossed his arms.

"Hn."

Sakura turned around and gave Sasuke a small smile.

"I'm just about to serve the food, let's get you out of that gear first." He was about to protest, but Sakura was already undoing his vest, pulling it from his shoulders. She pulled off the mask and undid his katana holster, careful not to touch the hilt of it. She placed the gear on the coffee table while he took off his gloves and pack. He sat down and let out a tired sigh.

Sakura served the stirfry and the two exchanged the usual word of gratitude for the meal and dug in.

"Long day?" Sakura questioned, avoiding his eyes.

"Aa." She shrugged and continued eating. She finally raised her eyes to his face and caught him stealing a look at the wedding invitation, perfectly placed in his view. He frowned, glaring at the little, pretty card.

"Tenten and Neji are getting married in two months."

"Hn."

"Tenten asked me to be one of her bridesmaids."

"Aa."

"I already RSVP'd for us." She bit her lip, waiting for an angry response. She heard him stop eating, and when she met his eyes, they were filled with irritation. He continued eating, swallowing before he continued.

"I'm not going, Sakura." He said curtly. She frowned.

"Why?" When did she muster up this amount of guts? She had never talked back to him like this before. She finished her food and laid her chopsticks on the side of the bowl, waiting for him to respond again. But he didn't. So she bit her lip, and then decided to try again.

"Is it a crime that I want my husband by my side while I celebrate the _marriage_ of one of my closest friends?" She saw Sasuke frown. He finished his food, stood up and placed his bowl in the sink.

"No." He deadpanned before disappearing from the kitchen. She realized that he was answering her previous statement, and not answering the question she just asked. She sighed and cleaned up her plate, and doing the dishes. She cleaned up the kitchen and turned out the light, heading into the bath room to have a nice, long bath. She climbed into bed early and laid on her side, closing her eyes. Shortly, Sasuke joined her, smelling like he had just come from the shower while she was in the bath.

"Sakura." She opened her eyes and rolled over to face her husband. She raised an eyebrow in the darkness, knowing he could see it, as if to respond to him. Suddenly, she was on her back, and Sasuke's weight was on top of her, his hands on either side of her head. She looked up at him, and she felt his hand slip down to pull at the edge of her nightgown. His head bent down, ready to give her the usual, chaste kiss. She sighed, and wriggled out of his embrace.

"No." She bit her lip, wanting to apologize, but decided that this time, she wasn't sorry. She ignored the heat between her legs that had formed. She heard Sasuke turn back over to his side away from her, and she predicted he had a glare on his face. She bit her lip once more, drawing blood.

* * *

_As usual, she looked around her, her eyes widening as she saw that Sasuke was right next to her, his Sharingan blazing. His katana was already at his side._

_"I love you." Sakura said, thankful for her voice, thankful that she hadn't been killed yet. Sasuke smirked in the darkness. _

_"So?" _

_She bit her lip._

_"So, I'm not afraid of you-" _

_He'd already plunged his sword into her chest. _

* * *

Sakura sat up and swore. She wiped away her tears, and rubbed her eyes.

"Kami fucking damnit." She muttered, and saw Sasuke's head move. He turned to her, his eyes opening, looking slightly worried. Sakura was tempted to let out a bitter laugh, but she didn't. She held a hand to her chest and slipped out of bed, shrugging into her robe.

"Sak-"

"I'm going to make some tea." She cut him off, closing the bedroom door behind her and headed towards the kitchen. She made a cup of tea and sat down at the table, rubbing her eye, trying to hold back the tears forming.

"Even when I do stand up to him or push _him _away, I get hurt." She whispered and gripped her cup. She stared at the table, and tried to ignore the sound of the teapot being picked up, and the hot liquid being poured into a cup. She didn't even look up as Sasuke took a seat in front of her at the table, and put down his cup. She sighed deeply and took a sip of her tea, before pushing it away from her. Sasuke was silent, but she felt his eyes on her.

"Do you know what I dream about, Sasuke?" He didn't answer, so she continued.

"I dream that I'm somewhere bloody, sometimes there are bodies, sometimes not. Sometimes I'm already injured, sometimes not. And then you're there. You and your damn Sharingan. And then I'm dead. By your hand." She avoided his eyes, not even knowing why she was telling him about this. He wouldn't comfort her anyways. She heard him hiss in a breath. She finished her tea and stood up, heading over to the sink to put it in.

"Sakura-" He started, but she shook her head.

"Don't worry, I won't pester you about the wedding again." She moved to walk past him and out of the kitchen, to get away from him before he could see that she was crying, but his arm shot out and caught her arm, preventing her from moving. She looked at him, his eyes blank.

"Stay." She sighed again at his curt command.

"Why?"

He didn't answer. But that was usual. So she tried to get out of his grasp, but he tightened it.

"Stay." He repeated, and she gave up and sat down across from him again. He released her hand and just sat there, looking at her.

"Talk, Sasuke." She said gently, but he remained silent. She ran her hands over her face, wiping away more tears.

"Why won't you talk?" He still didn't respond, so she just gave up. She folded her head into her arms on the table and closed her eyes. When he finally spoke, her eyes widened, and she lifted her head.

"'_Why don't you kiss me when you fuck me, Uchiha?'' _

"W-What?"

He looked away from her questioning gaze and towards the kitchen window.

"That's what you said when you were drunk." She bit her lip, blushing and look away. She didn't know what to say, other than the two cliche words.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Hn." She realized it actually might have hurt his ego a little bit. She looked back up at him, and realized he obviously planned to say no more. So she stood up, and walked past him, finding no resistance this time.

"Come back to bed." She said gently. She heard his chair being pushed in, cup in the sink, and then the lights were shut off. He followed her towards their bedroom and laid back down, watching as she pulled her robe back off, and hung it on the chair. She wiped her eyes once more and got into bed. She turned towards him and looked at his face, as he stared back at her. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips, not expecting his hand to cup the back of her neck and hold her there. She pulled away gently, kissed his cheek, and turned back over onto her back, closing her eyes.

"Goodnight." She murmured.

"Aa."

* * *

When she woke up, the sun was just starting to break the horizon, and Sasuke was already gone. She sat up and sighed. She got ready quickly and left the house, heading towards the hospital. She waved tiredly at Hana as she passed through the lobby and dumped her belongings at her desk. She tied her hair up on the top of her head and began her usual rounds.

Everyone seemed okay, the nurses were plentiful and didn't have as much busy work as Sakura expected, and she even had time to call into the Hokage tower to see Tsunade. She caught Tsunade up on everything that had happened, and Tsunade revealed that she too had gotten an invitation to the wedding and was happily planning on attending. Sakura smiled and held her tongue, not planning on telling her mentor about the 'fight' she had had with Sasuke over him attending.

On her lunch break, she crammed in a sandwich and cup of coffee, before heading back to her office. She stared at the flashing light on her phone, that indicated that she had a message. She played it back, finding it was blank, but from Neji's home phone. Sakura raised an eyebrow and hit redial, holding the phone to her ear, proceeding to sip her coffee. Tenten picked up on the second ring.

"Did Sasuke tell you yet?" She appeared very giddy. Sasuke? Sakura frowned.

"No, Ten, I haven't been home yet. And Sasuke wan't home when I left this morning. What is it?"

"Neji caught Sasuke walking through the market this morning and asked him if he'd heard about the wedding yet and Sasuke said yes, and Neji asked him to be on his groom's party and Sasuke agreed!" Sakura snorted.

"Don't lie, Ten." She took another gulp of coffee.

"Oh shut up Sakura, I'm not! Neji told me the whole conversation! Sasuke said he wasn't planning on going at first, but when Neji asked him to be in his party, Sasuke agreed!" Sakura's eyes widened. Was she serious?

"He told me last night that he was dead set on not going." She confided in Tenten, hearing the girl laugh over the phone.

"Then how'd you make him change his mind?" Sakura thought about it. Even she didn't know the answer to that. The two big each other good bye and Sakura sat at her desk, staring at her wedding picture. She finished her coffee, and decided to head out early,; the extra hours she did from last week would cover her. She packed up and left the lobby, making sure to tell Hana to call her if any emergencies happened while on her shift time.

She walked through the streets, lost in thought and saw a man carrying a large bouquet of flowers, a blush on his cheeks. He waled past Sakura and towards a small home. She smiled at the sweetness then stopped. She slapped her head. Ino! She needed to apologize to Ino and beg forgiveness for her horrible attitude yesterday. She hurried towards Ino's flower shop, her mouth open to call out the blonde's name, and stopped, seeing Sasuke stood at the counter. She hid behind the rose bush yet again and listened in.

"Did you talk to Sakura?" Sasuke's voice sounded genuinely concerned.

"I-Yes, I did, Sasuke." There was a pause, before Ino spoke again, but not before letting out a long sigh.

"You need to talk to her, Sasuke, there are things you two need to get out in the open. There are things she needs to say, and I know that if you give her the right attention and talk to her, she will."

Sakura could almost feel Sasuke's frown from where she was hiding.

"We do talk-" He tried to grumpily object, but Ino's sad voice cut him off.

"No, Sasuke, you don't. _She _talks, and you listen. She loves you so much, Sasuke but she doesn't- You really need to talk to her. Whatever skeletons you have in you closet that is preventing you from opening up to her, get rid of them now. Fix your marriage, Sasuke, don't expect Sakura to do it with a small smile and dinner cooked when you come home. She needs love."

Sakura blushed, and heard the hesitation in the blonde's voice.

"Do you love her, Sasuke?"

He didn't respond. This hit Sakura and she bit her lip, willing herself not to let out any tears. She had expected this, hadn't she? By his actions, of course he didn't _love_ her. She stood up, ready to walk away, to postpone her apology to Ino until later, when Ino's next question stopped her.

"Do you care for her, Sasuke?"

"Y-Yes." His answer was quiet, but Sakura picked up on it easily. She smiled to herself and left her hiding spot, walking the other way to go home. It was something. She could go on with that at least for now. That, and she knew Sasuke had something he needed to tell her about the wedding. Because she had left before the end of Sasuke and Ino's conversation, she had missed one of the most important parts of their talk.

"Wanna buy anything? I think I'm gonna pick up Shin from Hinata's and go home."

"White roses."


	9. IX

Sakura focused her energy onto watching the steak pieces in the oven, as she bent over, eyes squinting at the still red meat. She looked at the timer and back at the steaks and sighed.

"Mom, please save my steak cooking skills." She stood up straight and stirred the pot of vegetables she was boiling, and crossed her arms. She sighed loudly and looked up at the ceiling. She then looked at the clock, and decided Sasuke wouldn't be home yet. She headed into the hallway, and picked up the phone out of it's cradle, her finger beginning to dial Ino's number. As she was putting in the last digit, the door opened and closed. Sakura jumped, and put the phone back, turning towards her husband, who was standing in the doorway, his hands behind his back.

"I didn't think you'd be home yet." She said shakily, and disappeared back into the kitchen, checking on the steaks, determining that they would be done soon. She turned back around to see if Sasuke had followed her into the kitchen when her nose was engulfed in petals and the smell of dew. She bounced back and stared at her husband, who was holding out a bundle of six white roses to her. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again.

"I-I-" She tried to speak but he cut her off, looking away, a small blush on his cheeks.

"Here." She gently took the roses from him and held them in her hands.

"They're beautiful, Sasuke.." She looked at her husband, but he was still looking away, his hands buried deep in his pants pockets.

"Aa.." He felt a pair of lips on his cheek, his other covered by a small, warm hand. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I'm sorry." She pulled away from his cheek and looked up at him, smiling softly. She shrugged, still clutching the roses like a newborn.

"Me too. Now let's have something to eat."

* * *

They both looked at the small vase filled to the brim with the roses as they ate in silence. Sakura stole a look at Sasuke a few times, and when he returned her gaze questioningly, she looked away, biting her lip. They finished, and before she could stand up, Sasuke took both of their plates to the sinks and ran the water. He was about to reach over to collect the first pans too, when a pair of arms wrapped around his waist in a tight hug. But as soon as they did, they slipped away, and Sakura was standing near the calendar, humming softly.

"This marriage is rocky, ne?" She let out an awkward laugh, and crossed her arms. She stole a glance at the wedding invitation, and sat back down in the chair.

Sasuke finished washing the dishes, but left them to air dry in the sink and sat back down, facing her. When he saw her eyes glance over at the little invitation on the table by the flowers, he closed his eyes and sighed.

"Neji asked me to be in his grooms party." Sakura looked up and tilted her head.

"I thought you didn't want to go to the wedding?"

"I said yes." Sakura tried to hold back a smile.

"Guess we'll have to find something to wear then." She commented and placed her hands in her lap.

"Hn."

She was almost happy to have the old Sasuke comments back.

She stood up and grabbed a dish towel, beginning to dry up the dishes that Sasuke had left. She continued humming to herself quietly, and Sasuke picked up the teapot and steeper. She watched him once more give up on the oven dials and use his fire to boil the water, and she giggled. After she finished, they stood in the kitchen, both sipping down the refreshing liquid. Sakura looked at Sasuke, watching as his eyes met hers. He set down the teacup on the counter and move closer to her, and before Sakura could completely blink, he was in front of her. She put down her own cup, and Sasuke bent his head towards hers.

Before he could place the kiss on her lips, she cupped both of his cheeks and guided her lips to his. He placed his hands on either side of her against the counter, and Sakura moved her lips against his, her tongue snaking out to prod at his closed ones. He jumped slightly, and pulled away. Sakura blushed, and pulled her hands from his cheeks, looking down, ashamed.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke, I didn't mean to push you-" She stopped when she felt his lips on the crown of her head. She closed her eyes, feeling herself blush and placed her hands on his hips gently. His hands moved from the counter to her hips, and he hoisted her up onto the countertop, standing between her knees. She blushed, remembering what happened last time he put her in such a predicament.

His fingers found the edge of her shirt, and he lifted it slowly over her head, and then pulled his own off, as a habit. She reached up to cup his chin with her hands, her lips finding their way to his neck, where she kissed his skin repeatedly, ignoring the swift movement of his fingers undoing the bra clasp. She pulled her hands away, as he slipped the material off her arms, and wrapped her own around his neck. He picked her up once more and moved towards the hallway, and then the bedroom.

He put her down on the floor, his hands still on her waist, his eyes boring down into her own. She wasted no time pulling off his pants, and then undoing her slacks, and stepping out of them, and within minutes they were both rid of all clothes, and he placed her on the bed, and leaned over her. He adjusted himself so he was kneeling between her legs and she blushed as he gently pulled her legs to wrap around his hips, and her lower half was angled upwards above the bed. He leaned down, and she wrapped her arms back around his neck (where they belonged, in her opinion).

Her eyes widened as he buried his head into her neck, his lips parted against her skin and he entered her gently. She let out a breath, and closed her eyes, liking this new position he had her in. His thrusting was gentle, almost fragile, as if he was scared to break her, and was a change from his usual fast pace. She heard him panting against her neck, and her hands moved up to run through his hair. She bit her back to hold back a moan.

This time when the two came together, it was a soft moan that escaped both of their lips. Sasuke's head collapsed against her shoulder, trying to control his breathing, and Sakura merely laid there, stroking his hair. He pulled himself away from her and positioned them under the covers. Sakura didn't realize how tired she was until her head hit the pillow. She turned on her side, head leaning on her folded arm, to face her husband. He was lying on his back, slowly pulling the covers up to his stomach. Sakura smiled, and closed eyes.

"I love you." She murmured, once more, not expecting an answer. But just before she drifted off, she received a quiet one from the man beside her.

"I know." She smiled.

* * *

When Sakura opened her eyes the next morning, Sasuke was gone from the bed once more, and she shrugged to herself. She stood up, looking down at her naked thighs, a small blush forming on her cheeks. Slowly she recovered all of the memories from yesterday and rubbed her abdomen gently. She was happy, and she knew that slowly, Sasuke was fixing things with her. But she understood that it would take him time to open up.

The roses though were a sign that it was possible.

After a shower and some toast, she headed to work, intending to do a half day, and then catch up on laundry and cleaning when she got home. The first half of the morning was filled with the care of a genin boy, who had gotten caught in chakra wire while playing with it from his dad's weapons. After a large scolding and half a ton of healing ointment, Sakura left the boys room, smiling and headed back to her office, intending to get in an hour on her master thesis. She hadn't had anytime this entire week or the last to work on it, it seemed.

When she reached her door, she heard the phone ringing. She rushed in and answered it, taking a seat at her desk.

"Doctor Haruno." She used it as her address only on the phone, because there was a possibility that someone was easier to recognize her maiden name. She assumed soon, she would have to change it to Doctor Uchiha. When the realization set in.

"Sakura." She recognized the deep voice instantly, and couldn't help but let her heart melt a little bit. But then she sat up straight, frowning. Sasuke never called her at work, or in general.

"Is everything alright, Sasuke?" She looked around for her purse, just in case she had to hurry home.

"Hn. I just called to tell you I'll be out on a mission tonight. I'll be back in the early morning." Sakura sighed out in relief.

"Ne, Sasuke you had me worried for a second! Ah.. alright, I'll see you tomorrow morning." When he didn't respond, she thought he had hung up, and reached to hit the end button, but then she heard his husky voice.

"You should use Doctor Uchiha instead." Then he hung up. She blushed and put the phone down. Maybe she would start addressing herself as Doctor Uchiha. She stood up and retrieved her work from her filing cabinet and continued her master thesis, her mind unable to get off of Sasuke. Still, she pushed through and finished her hours worth of work, and when she found out that the hospital was having another slow day, she left early to get home.

She managed to get two loads of laundry done, before eating an afternoon snack and then making her way outside to the garden. The sun was still high in the clouds, and the air was humid. Sakura tied up her shirt above her stomach and went over to the cracked walkway. She used her monstrous strength to pull away the broken pieces and stack them in a pile on the deck.

She then raked up the fallen leaves, watered her Azalea seeds (which had happily began to break soil) and cleaned out the shed. When she was done, she collapsed on the couch in the living room, before feeling like reading a book. She stood up once more, groaning a little bit and headed over to her bookshelf, searching the various novels. Her eyes landed on a blank, pink book. She grinned and pulled it out, reading the title on the front.

_Haruno Sakura's Journal _

_NO UZIMAKI NARUTO'S OR BOYS ALLOWED  
_

She laughed loudly and flipped through the pages, looking for a date in particular. May 6th, two years ago. She laughed as she began reading her own voice right off the page.

_It had been the first time Sasuke had appeared in her life since he had been back in Konaha. Sakura had passed her ANBU exam months ago, and was getting used to her new job as head medic at the hospital. On her way from work, she had stopped by Ino's Flower Shop to say hello, and was stopped outside of the door. _

_"Sakura." She turned towards the sound of the voice, blushing as she recognized the husky tone. She turned to see eighteen year old Uchiha Sasuke leaning against the other wall, his hands in his pockets. Sakura smiled gently and walked over, bowing at him. _

_"Good afternoon, Sasuke. what brings you to Ino's flower shop?" She blinked at him, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. He shrugged. _

_"You." She blushed deeper and opened her mouth._

_"M-Me?" She watched as he pushed himself off the wall and began walking past Ino's flower shop. She followed after him, waiting for him to explain, but he never did. he directed her towards her apartment door, and stood there, looking at her. When she opened her mouth to question him again, he looked away, the tips of his ears turning red, and bid her goodnight._

_After that encounter, Sasuke had slowly made his way back into her life. At first it was walks home. He would ask Hana for her schedule, and meet her outside the hospital lobby. They never said anything, and when she reached her door, he would say goodnight and walk away. He would even come with her when she had to make a stop at the market before heading home, even holding some of her bags once. _

_After two months of walking her home, he had asked her, well rather mumbled an invitation to join him at dinner. She had said yes, and blushingly let him pick her up and take her to a small restaurant. Again, the meeting was silent, apart from Sakura's small comments, and Sasuke's one worded answers. _

_In a span of three months he asked her out on about a dozen dates, all of them restaurant or movie events. He never held her hand, nor touched her, but Sakura acknowledged that she was being courted by Uchiha Sasuke. And in a way, she liked it, even if she wished that he showed her affection. _

_One night, after a movie, he had walked her home, and as he was going to bid her goodnight, she hesitated at the door and turned to him. He froze, hands still in his pockets, as Sakura stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. She pulled away quickly and disappeared inside, and Sasuke fled away from her apartment. He didn't see her for a month, probably out of embarrassment. _

_That was the closest she had ever came during their courting to physically touching Sasuke. After that, he didn't walk as close to her, or sit as close. But he continued to ask her to come with him to dinner or events. _

_It was about a year into their courting when he suddenly popped the question, or rather, mumbled it in the structure of a command. _

_They were enjoying a peaceful meal at his place for once, and he had cooked up a simple bowl of rice and chicken, but she gladly ate it. She was right in the middle of chewing on a tender piece of meat, when he put down his chopsticks, and looked away, with a small blush on his cheeks. _

_"Marry me." He said quietly, and she choked, coughing. She cleared her throat, put down her chopsticks, and gaped at him._

_"W-What?" He refused to meet her eyes, but repeated himself and slowly slipped a small ring onto the table, a silver band with rubies. _

_She looked down at the ring, and folded her hands in her lap. _

_"Yes." She murmured, nodding. _

_It wasn't until after he had walked her home, and she had kissed his cheek that she slipped the small band onto her finger and slid to the floor. Her mind began to analyze her choice then. Everyone else in their age group had coupled up, but Sakura still had other choices other than Sasuke, and he her she knew. But she loved him. And she knew that this was the only man she could ever love romantically. So she nodded to herself and held the ring to her heart, and closed her eyes, tears of joy slipping down her cheeks. _

_It no longer mattered that she had barely touched Sasuke, or that he never spoke when they went on dates. She was going to marry him._

_And sadly, that was also the night when she had her first nightmare about him. The first had not been so bad, the worst came a week into her marriage, but the first left it's scar. She had been standing in a field, blood dripping down from her chest. It had been scary seeing him look at her so darkly with those Sharingan eyes. And when he plunged his Chidori into her already injured chest, she had woken up screaming and sobbing. She had changed her shift at work for the next week hastily and asked Hana to give Sasuke the old schedule, not giving an explanation. She had hidden from him, and after the week, when she thought she was rid of the nightmare, she saw him again. And after another date and dinner the next week, she experienced her second nightmare. But by her fifth, she had learned to just go on with her life. _

_After that, she was engulfed in the stress of planning her wedding while Sasuke had the easy job of getting her father's approval. It was given on a whim, Papa Haruno hadn't forgotten all the tears his heartbroken daughter had shed over the Uchiha, but realizing marrying him would make her happy, he agreed. Which explained why he later on felt guilty when Sakura hadn't been happy with her marriage. He blamed himself. _

_The ceremony of the wedding went by quickly, she was ushered down the aisle by her teary-eyed father, she and Sasuke read the vowels, and kissed. _

_Their wedding night was different. As tradition deemed, Sasuke carried Sakura bridal style from the gardens of Konaha towards the Uchiha mansion. However, when he set her down on the bed, and undressed, giving her time to undress too, he took one look at her "wedding night undergarments" and blushed. He had gotten into bed beside her and prompt fallen asleep. _

_Sakura had rolled over, letting tears come to her eyes. She cursed Ino for pressing her to buy white lingerie for said night. The next week was all about Sakura moving in her things from her apartment. Naturally, Sasuke helped with the heavier boxes, and then disappeared on his usual missions, leaving Sakura to unpack her stuff throughout the day alone. _

_She had held back tears, wishing her marriage hadn't started out so.. lonely. She avoided the questions of the lack of a honeymoon and swiftly adjusted her life to living in Sasuke's house. _

_It took them a week to finally consummate their marriage, and for the first time since Sasuke had started courting her (not counting the necessary marriage vow kiss at their wedding), Sasuke had kissed her. It was small and chaste but still a kiss, so Sakura blushed, and melted into his hands. _

_It was after a usual dinner they had shared. Sasuke had returned home from his mission that day early, so the two shared a quiet dinner. Sakura had done the dishes and she and Sasuke had spent a few hours sat out on the porch, reading in silence. Then, when she was changing into her night gown, Sasuke had cornered her against the wall and quickly kissed her. Her arms wound around his neck, happy for the contact, and he slowly pulled off her nightgown, and then slipped out of his pants. She had blushed (this was the first time seeing her new husband naked), and closed her eyes when he laid her on their bed and entered her. _

_It was gentle, but didn't last long, probably out of Sasuke's embarrassment. He came quickly in a panting breath, Sakura following suit, and rolled off of her and fell asleep on his side. She had only shed one tear as she curled up in the bed, but squeezed her thighs together, savoring the moment they had just shared. _

_From then on, she expected sex with Sasuke on a regular basis, as he always pressed a kiss to her lips first. _

* * *

It was 3 am before Sasuke returned home tiredly. Part of him expected Sakura to be waiting up for him, with a pot of tea, or the coffeemaker going, but he could not sense her chakra in the kitchen. He dropped most of his outer gear on the coffee table in the kitchen and headed into the hallway, his eyes stopping at the light on in the living room. He stepped in and saw Sakura asleep on the futon, curled up. On the floor was her closed journal. He bent down and picked up the book, replacing it in it's spot on the shelf and picked up his wife, slowly making his way to the bedroom.

He set her down gently on the bed and stripped himself of his vest, headband and shirt. He stretched, pulling his arms over his head, and heard Sakura stir from the bed. She sat up, yawning.

"Sasuke? Mmn.. what time is it?"

"3:30 in the morning. You fell asleep in the living room." She smiled and closed her eyes, rubbing them. She yawned again.

"Sorry." She said guiltily, not knowing if she was apologizing for actually falling asleep or making him carry her to bed. Well technically, she didn't _make_ him, he could have just woke her up from the futon. But he didn't.

"Aa."

She pulled her shirt over her head and slipped out of her skirt, and slipped under the bed covers, thumping her head on the pillow. She closed her eyes, feeling Sasuke slowly get into bed beside her. She was slowly drifting off into sleep, when she felt Sasuke slowly shuffle closer to her in the bed. She opened her eyes and stared at him in the moonlight that illuminated from the half closed curtains.

"Sasuke?" She murmured, licking her lips. He leaned his head on his crooked elbow and looked back at her. She smiled inwardly, thinking about how young and .. innocent he looked when he did that.

"I want a child." She opened her mouth and closed it again, her eyes sleepily opening and closing. She leaned over and kissed his cheek lovingly.

"Someday." She murmured, and curled up into a ball on her side, facing him. She felt his lips momentarily on her hair, and then he was rolled back over on his side of the bed, facing away from her.

"I love you." She said quietly, and fell asleep.


	10. X

_The man Sakura stared at this time was not the same nightmares, and she was not the same Sakura. They were older, and she could feel her bones ache with the slightest tinge of hitting forty years old. Even Sasuke had a few wrinkles on his forehead and looked older, more mature. He stared at her, his Sharingan as blazing as usual, but this time, Sakura wasn't scared. _

_"Are you happy, Sasuke?" His forty year old face turned into a scowl, but he remained silent, refusing to answer. Sakura shrugged, and continued to talk, acting as if he wasn't there. _

_"I am. Somewhere out there, I'm lying in a warm bed beside my husband, and I know now that he wants a child as much as I do. And I'm slowly beginning to trust him again, Sasuke. You hear that? I'm slowly beginning to trust him.. I'm not afraid of him anymore." _

_"Are you afraid of me?" She shrugged once more at his response, and closed her eyes. She let out a small sigh. _

_"In a way, I am a bit nervous of you right now, yes." _

_"Do you love him?" Sakura's eyes snapped open, brimming with new tears. She smiled sadly. _

_"With all of my heart."_

_"Will you ever love me again?" She smiled softer, and looked up at him, seeing that his Sharingan was gone from his eyes. She could make out a small tear roll down his pale cheek. Uchiha Sasuke crying, now that was a sight. _

_"I already do. With all of my heart." _

_This time, he approached her first, his arms wrapping her into an embrace, and she hugged him back, her tears spilling onto his shirt. She felt him slowly raise his katana to her back, and she smiled. She felt the cold metal pierce her shirt when he stopped. _

_"Don't give up on me." He said, and the crack in her voice brought her to a sob, as he slowly, gently, killed her while keeping her warm in his arms._

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes, feeling the tears already falling down her face to hit- _skin?_ She tried to hold back a sob, but a small noise emerged from her lips and the arm around her waist tightened, the hand giving her a small squeeze. She looked up and found Sasuke's chin on her head, his eyes closed in a calm slumber. She gagged, trying not to sob again, but Sasuke's eyes were already open, his arms snaking closer around her.

"Sakura-"

She let the sob go, and buried her head into his chest. Sasuke adjusted her in his eyes and laid there, silently, letting her just cry for a moment, waiting until she had calmed down. When she did, she pulled away, feeling his arms tighten around her, and looked up at him. His eyes were filled with worry.

"Tell me."

She took a deep breath and let out everything she could remember, leaving no small detail out. When she did, she placed her clammy forehead to his cool chest and closed her eyes. She waited for him to respond, not really knowing if he would. She didn't even have the heart right now to analyze how she had ended up falling asleep in his arms in the first place.

"Are you afraid of me?" She bit her lip, and shook her head.

"Not anymore. No, I'm not afraid of you, Sasuke."

"Do you trust me?" Her eyes widened, she choked back another sob, knowing that she had to answer honestly, and that he wouldn't like it. She closed her eyes and shook her head, tears resuming to fall down her face. She avoided his eyes.

"I don't know.."

She felt the warm embrace of his arms pull away from her gently, and he sat on the edge of the bed, with his naked back to her. She sat up in a kneeling position, her hand reaching out to touch him, when she hesitated.

He had his face in his hands, his whole upper half slumped over. In the moonlight, she through she saw the glitter of water through his fingers. She bit her lip and moved her hand out to touch him again.

"Sasuke.."

Just as her hand touched the warm skin of his shoulder, he jerked away and disappeared into the hallway, and into the darkness of the rest of the house. Sakura collapsed against the bed, curling herself into a ball, hugging Sasuke's pillow to her. She let out a large sob, and continued, not aiming to stop until she had nothing left in her.

When she finally fell back asleep, alone in the bed, it was a thoughtless, deep sleep.

* * *

She awoke late in the morning, her hair plastered to Sasuke's pillow that she was still clutching, her nails digging into the soft material. Her eyes stung from the tears, and her lips were dry. She swallowed a bitter taste, and pulled the covers back over her. She fell back asleep quickly.

When she awoke two hours later, it was the same thing. The bed was still uninhabited, the house silent. She pulled herself out of the bed, slipping the pillow out of her hands onto the edge of the bed and stood up. Without thinking she walked to the bathroom, looked in and continued down the hallway, doing the same thing to every room in the large house. She went back to the hallway and stood in front of the phone, glaring at the blinking light of a message. She hit play, listening to Hana's worried voice.

"Doctor Haruno, it's Hana. I guess you just overslept, you must be tired, but you missed your shift. I-I ah.. well give me a call and we'll talk about it." Sakura called the number back, apologized to Hana and requested the day off, feigning a large migraine once more. She hung up the phone and made her way back into the bedroom, crawled back under the strewn covers, and wrapped her arms around the pillow once more. She closed her eyes and willed herself back to sleep.

She was awoken late that night by the ringing telephone. She got up from the bed slowly, ignoring her aching muscles, bitter taste in her mouth, and burning eyes. She shuffled towards the phone, and realized that there was three messages on the answering machine. She frowned and picked up the phone.

"H-Hello?" Naruto sounded almost frantic on the other line.

"K-Kami, Sakura thank God you finally picked up! Jesus _fucking _Christ, Sasuke just showed up and collapsed on my floor, he looks really beaten up, and he's bleeding. I've tried to get him to talk, but he won't say anything, he-"

"I'll be right there." She cut him off and immediately shuffled back to the bedroom. She pulled on sweats and one of Sasuke's shirts that was strewn on the floor, and wrapped her coat around her. She hurried towards Naruto's small apartment. When she got there, she raised a knuckle to knock on the door, but it was already being flung open, and Naruto grabbed her arm, pulling her in. He shut the door behind him, and Sakura hurried towards the couch where Naruto had put Sasuke.

He was on his back, his eyes closed, lips parted, and cut. She kneeled in front of him and turned to Naruto.

"Get me some warm water and a damp cloth." Naruto hurried past her into the kitchen, and Sakura shrugged out of her jacket, her hands immediately going to Sasuke's chest, ripping open his thin shirt. He made a small noise, and his eyes moved, but Sakura ignored it. She stared at the mass of cuts and bruises running down his perfect chest and stomach, and closed her palms over the first batch by his collarbones. She wiped her head, after healing them and focused on the large bruise in the center of his chest, right next to his solar plexus. She cursed out loud, and Sasuke's lips opened and closed. She ignored it once more, until he let out a small whisper.

"Sakura.."

"Right now, Sasuke I don't want to hear it, okay?" She gritted out, and continued to heal him, working on the tough bruise, trying to fix the broken blood vessels. She quickly did the rest of his chest and stomach and gaped at the small, hole-like wound on his abdomen. Was that a kni- She cut herself of and placed two fingers on either side of the slim, but deep cut, willing herself to slowly close it, layer by layer. Sasuke was lucky, it had been very close to rupturing a hole in his small intestine.

Naruto ran back with a bowl of water and a cloth. Sakura swiped the cloth from him, dipped it in the water and slapped it across Sauske's forehead, earning a noise of discomfort from the man. She ignored it, and wiped the sweat off of her eyes and dipped her hands in the water. She cleaned up the small scrapes on his thighs and knees and the ones on his cheekbones. When she was done, she put her thumb on his cut lip, quickly closing the bleeding wound. She stood up and turned to Naruto, who was just standing there, looking frantic.

"Sakura-chan.. Sasuke-"

"Yeah." She cut him off, acting as if she really know what he was going to say. Naruto rubbed his arm, nervously.

"Do you need help getting him back home or-"

"Its fine, go and get some sleep. I'm sorry this happened." She turned away from Naruto and helped her still half unconscious husband sit up on the couch. She used the cloth from his forehead to clean off any dried blood on his body and placed the bowl in Naruto's kitchen. She bid the blonde goodnight and wrapped Sasuke's arm around her neck, her arm around his waist. She hoisted him out the door, ignoring his grunts of disapproval at the help.

They walked slowly, but silently towards the Uchiha compound, their footsteps the only sound, until Sasuke began to speak.

"I got into a fight." It sounded like a confession, but Sakura huffed at his weight (no matter her strength) and continued on.

"I can see that. The knife wound was quite obvious." In the back of her mind she did wonder how Sasuke, the best of his kind, found another man of his expertise to pick a fight with so quickly. There were only two people she knew that could deal this kind of blow to Sasuke in Konaha; Naruto and Kakashi, but neither seemed the picking-fight kind. She wanted to ask, but held back.

"I let him." She pinched the bridge of her nose (a trait she had picked up from Sasuke in the first place), and sighed. She turned the key and opened the front door, lugging him into the bathroom. He stood there, his hands limply at his sides, as she stripped him of his clothes, and threw away the ripped shirt. She shoved him into the shower and turned the water all the way on cold.

She ignored the loud yelp from Sasuke at the ice-cold water, and grinned bitterly, hoping that had woke him up. She waited in the bathroom as he showered, her hands pulling her hair off of her face. She washed her face and brushed her teeth, as Sasuke stepped out of the shower, dripping wet. She handed him his towel and headed out of the bathroom and into the living room, where she stood, her back to the entryway and couch, arms folded. She waited for him to come in as she stared at the small frames of pictures she had placed on her bookshelf.

Two were of her when she was little with her mother and father, one with her cousins, and another with Ino. The last was of her, eighteen years old, at Ino's wedding, standing between Naruto and Lee, grinning. She smiled to herself, and listened as she heard Sasuke slip into the living room and sit down on the couch. She turned towards him, her arms still folded. This time, there were no tears coming to her eyes. She had spent her supply last night.

"I really thought we were progressing, I thought we were beginning to be happy, to fix our marriage, and then _this _happens!" She gestured with a hand at Sasuke's still beaten up appearance, and refolded her arms. He looked up at her, his eyes hurt.

"You don't trust me."

"And do you wonder why, when you disappear suddenly in the night and go and get yourself _fucked _up in a fight?!" She shot back bitterly, watching Sasuke's eyes blink slowly.

"I'm trying, Sakura." He sounded exhausted and almost sad. She bit back a bitter laugh.

"Yeah, it really feels like it." That's when he stood up, his whole physique looking enraged, but his eyes still showed hurt. He clenched his knuckles until they turned white and gritted his teeth.

"Do you know how hard it is to watch your _wife_ have nightmares every night about you killing her? And then to watch her go about her day like nothing happened? Do you know much it breaks my heart to see you _cry _into the same shoulder of the man who you don't trust and I can't do _shit _about it because I learned that you don't trust me? How hard it is to adjust to the fact that your wife sleeps in the bed with you, the same bed where your parents were murdered, plays your mother's music and slowly becomes your mother in all ways? How hard it is to hear your own wife scream at you to _kiss her the next time you fuck her_?"

Sakura stood there, motionless, not knowing what to say. She watched as tears brimmed in Sasuke's eyes, and tears slowly slipped down her own cheeks.

"I-I-"

"Don't you realize I know you aren't happy? That it _hurts_ to watch you smile at me and be with me when I know your heart wants something _more_?"

"_I want you!", _she screamed, interrupting him, and he looked taken aback, _"All I've ever wanted was you, Sasuke! I want you to open up to me like this, I want to know what you're feeling! And I'm not unhappy here. I love you so much, and being Uchiha Sakura was all that I ever wanted!" _

"I'm trying-" Sasuke tried again, his eyebrows furrowed.

"_Try harder!_" She yelled and threw her arms above her head in desperation. She calmed herself down. "Try harder," she repeated, calmly this time, "come home with warmth in your heart, tell me tales about your mission and whats on your mind, open up to me, and make love to me, Sasuke, leave yoruself naked to me, just as I do with you." She sighed gently. "Please."

There was silence as the two calmed down, and it was minutes before Sasuke spoke again, but his words shocked Sakura. He was stood right in front of her, his head down, but his eyes looking right at her.

"My mother." He said gently. Sakura's eyes widened in confusion. She opened her mouth to ask him what he was talking about, but he continued.

"My mother was the one playing the piano on the CD you were listening to. Every since you moved in, it's been hard for me to adjust having a motherly figure in the house, and seeing you play her music.. seeing you fall in love with it.. it was a lot to take in." He closed his eyes and bowed his head. His eyes opened when he felt Sakura's lips on his forehead, her hands cupping his head. She pulled away from him gently, her own eyes closed.

"This was all I ever wanted, Sasuke. Just this."

He pulled her against him, and she felt the cold dampness of tears on the top of her head. She hugged him back, and stood there quietly, not wanting to end such a precious moment.

"I got into a fight", he continued, his voice muffled by her hair, "because I didn't know what to do with myself. My own wife didn't trust me. So I picked a fight and I just let the guy hit me and stab me, because I knew I was worthless. I couldn't even open up to my own _fucking _wife, but all this time I had been confiding in my best friend."

Sakura's eyes widened. He had been talking to Naruto about-

"Every time I saw that you were unhappy, I didn't know how to make you feel better, how to comfort you, so I left. And every time, I found myself outside of Naruto's door, and all he did was listen while I poured out everything and angrily let all my frustrations out on him. The day after you got drunk, I lost it and ended up at Naruto's door, and when I told him what happened, I let him scream at me, and somehow, we got into a fight."

She remained silent, just letting him say everything he needed to say.

"I don't know how to socialize. When I courted you I had no idea how deep I had gotten myself in until you kissed me that night after our movie date. I didn't know how to tell you, how to _show you_, that I cared for you as much as I did, so I kept it bottled up. I tried my best to cater to your needs without growing any closer to you than I had. I was scared, scared that if I got any closer, I would loose you, or fuck up, or hurt you. And now it seems like I've done all three."

He let out a bitter laugh, but stopped talking. They shared the silence for a few more minutes, before Sakura spoke again, confidently and loudly.

"I love you." Sasuke hesitated, his lips still in her hair. He sighed, and tightened his hold around her.

"I know."

She escorted him back towards the bedroom, arms around each other, and he laid her gently in the bed before lying down next to her, on his side, turned towards her. He pulled her against his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her.

"Don't give up on me." He murmured and closed his eyes. She smiled and kissed his cheek gently.

"Never."

* * *

_Sakura was stood in front of a tall, silver mirror. She looked herself in the reflection, taking in her pulled back hair, beautiful face, and bridal robes. She looked like her nineteen year old self, innocent as the day that she was married. She continued looking into the mirror, before Sasuke appeared behind her, however, he looked like his twenty year old, married self. He was also clad in his wedding robes. His hand stroked the back of her neck, his lips by her ear. _

_"What do you see?" He whispered. Sakura frowned, and continued looking at their reflection. She smiled brightly._

_"I see happiness!" _

_He 'hn'd and a small smile came to his handsome face. Sakura continued looking at herself in the mirror, watching as Sasuke's hands slowly came around to her front and placed themselves on her large, rounded stomach. Her eyes brimmed with tears. _

_"Me too." He said gently, and her hands cupped his own on her pregnant stomach, intertwining their fingers. _


	11. XI

**A/N: **_Just a little warning that there's a bit of a more descriptive lime at the end of his chapter. Kay thanks. Enjoy!_  
_(Oh and sorry about any grammatical and spelling errors.) _

* * *

The morning after everything happened, as Sakura liked to call it, was so completely different from every other morning of her married life, that she wanted to cry in happiness. But she didn't, she was fed up of letting loose tears. She had gone to stretch her arms out, her mouth already opening in a yawn when her elbows collided with warm, soft skin.

"Oh!" She murmured and saw that she was still in Sasuke's arms, and his head was buried into the crevice of her neck. She smiled and stroked his hair, trying not to wake him up, but she knew he probably would from the contact. His arms tightened around her midsection and he let out a grumble of nonintellectual words into her neck.

She still felt groggy, and knew that she needed a long shower to clean off all the sweat from the day before, but she refused to move from Sasuke's embrace, plainly because she knew she deserved to be able to stay in it and enjoy herself. So instead of trying to pull away, she started to hum a lullaby quietly, under her breath. She lulled her head back into the pillow, and closed her eyes, opening them again once more, when they caught sight of the alarm clock.

_7:40. _Sakura cursed and wriggled in Sasuke's embrace, but he continued to grumble and locked his arms in place. Sakura continued to wriggle.

"Nnf.. Sasuke.. ah, I have to be at work in 20 minutes!" She tried to pry his arms free, but he wouldn't budge.

"So?" Came the bored reply. Sakura gasped and lightly smacked his arm, continue to twist around against him.

"Soo.. I need to go to work! I don't want to get fired!"

She heard Sasuke sigh and pull his head from her neck, a deep frown over his closed eyes. He let her go, and she scrambled off the bed, already beginning to strip off her clothes.

"Hn." She turned and made a small noise as she saw a smirk on his beautiful face, his eyes open and watching her. He rolled onto his stomach and turned his head away from her, as she ran into the bathroom to shower. She got dressed hastily and brushed her teeth. After applying makeup and already pulling her hair into a bun, she stepped out from the bathroom and stopped dead in her tracks, her lips gaping open.

The still half-closed curtains of their bedroom poured in sunlight which hit the bed at a perfect angle, or more importantly, hit her husband's creamy skin. He had rolled back onto his back, stretched out, every muscle, ab and crevice of his torso exposed to her eyes, an arm thrown over his face. From his moving around, the bed sheet had rumpled around his hipbones, dangerously low to exposing something else, as she saw that his pants had also ridden low in his sleep. She bit her lip, blushing red.

_Oh, Kami, why did she have to go to work now? She could stare at such a sight for an eternity!_

She quietly exited the bedroom and hurried to the kitchen, reaching into the fridge to grab the pitcher of orange juice. She downed two cups, and chewed on a piece of toast as she grabbed her bag and keys, slipping into her shoes and fixing her clothes. She almost ran into Sasuke on her pursuit of the kitchen to grab her pen. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, ignoring the fact that he was still half naked and hadn't felt the need to adjust his low hanging pants and hurried out the door.

"I'll be back at 2!" She called before shutting the door behind her.

She reminded herself that she still had to post Tenten's invitation RSVP on her way back from work. She had been meaning to mail it the moment she got it, but when Sasuke looked irritated that she had already signed it for him, she held back. Now that he had agreed, she knew she needed to mail it. She hurried to work, and quickly apologized to Hana on her way up to her office.

* * *

At noon, the hospital was eerily quiet, so Hana told her she might as well just leave early. Sakura made her way out of the hospital, promising to get in a full shift tomorrow morning, and headed towards the post office. She mailed the RSVP card and then stopped, thinking. She then headed towards the flower shop she had grown up hanging around with her best friend.

When she entered, Ino was at the counter, giving an old woman her change and reciept. When she looked up an saw Sakura, her eyes widened and she rushed over, crushing Sakura in her embrace. Sakura felt Ino's tears hit her shoulder. She hugged her friend back.

"I'm so sorry Sakura, for everything, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay. I have a lot to tell you. I'm finally happy, Ino. Finally."

"I have a lot to say too Sakura, Sasuke came in the store and he-"

"I know, Ino. I know." Sakura pulled back from her best friend and kissed her cheeks, and gave her arms a squeeze, not realizing that the two of them were already crying. Sakura cursed, not wanting to be shedding tears yet again. Happy or not. Ino closed the flower store's door and put up the 'Out to Lunch' sign and pulled Sakura over to the small bench among the flowers. She sat down and Sakura told her everything. This time, when Sakura finished, she was smiling, and Ino was smiling back.

"This time, Sakura, I will happily let you dump all of your marriage problems on me. I'm here for you." They hugged again and spent another thirty minutes just talking about Sasuke's changed behavior. When Sakura realized that it was almost 2, she stood up and the two exchanged warm goodbyes. She left Ino's store feeling refreshed, and headed to the market, quickly picking up a bundle of the ripest tomatoes the store had. She snuck back into the house, and walked into the kitchen, putting her things on the counter. She felt lips on the back of her head, but then they were gone, and she turned to meet Sasuke's eyes as he sat down at the table.

She washed a tomato in water and handed it to him, which he bit into, his eyes still looking at her. She put her eyes behind her back and shrugged.

"Soo..." She let out a breath, not really knowing what to say. So much had happened that she didn't even know where to begin a conversation with Sasuke.

"Aa." She rolled her eyes. Same old Sasuke retorts. She stood at the counter, crossing her arms as he finished his tomato and disappeared from the kitchen. She followed him to the back door, and she raised an eyebrow as he opened the screen and stepped out, letting her step outside behind him and closing the door.

"Oh! Sasuke you.." She looked at the wrapped up, newly bought stones for the walkway and clapped her hands together happily. He put his hand on her back, and then pulled it away, reaching to hand her the cement putty. She nodded.

"Alright, I'm going to go changed and we'll start to fix those damned stones up." She put the putty tube back down and hurried inside to get changed into a big, old shirt and a pair of shorts. She tied up the end of the shirt to keep it from getting dirty, and stepped back outside. They spent an hour replacing the new stones into the old stones places and cementing them in place, and Sasuke gracefully helped her life the heavy stones.

At one point, in the heat of the day, he had rubbed his arm across his forehead to push the sweat away and gotten a glob of putty onto his forehead. Sakura had laughed for five minutes, ignoring Sasuke's deep frown as his fingers touched his head, trying to get it off, only making it smear and look worse.

"Damned crap." He cursed, but helped her finish the stones, ignoring the laughing that Sakura was still doing. The tips of his ears reddened.

After that she had ushered him inside, poured them some cold water, and pushed him into a chair, while she stood over him, cleaning off the drying cement from his forehead. He closed his eyes, obviously embarrassed.

* * *

Sakura really didn't have much to say about the next few days, only that there wasn't a day where she didn't feel happy. After repairing the stones, she had made Sasuke a bowl of rice porridge and the two had sat on the bench outside, eating it heartily, enjoying the silence.

Of course, Sasuke was his old self, to a whim, he still answered shortly sometimes, but he made a greater effort to form longer sentences and conversations. The day after, when they were sat quietly eating dinner, Sasuke out of nowhere had begin to speak, telling Sakura a ridiculous story about how Naruto had tripped off of a three inch step after a mission and sprained his arm. Sakura giggled, and Sasuke looked down, smirking to himself.

"Dobe." He finished with, and continued to eating.

The next night, Sasuke had confided in her how he had grown to love tomatoes so. It was a quick tale, involving his mothers' tries to get a two year old Sasuke to eat his fruits and vegetables, but Sakura was happy all the same. She hummed, and closed her eyes. After that, he had done the dishes, while she relaxed and drank a cup of tea. That night, when she lay with her head on his chest, she slowly began to tell him about her dream with them and the mirror. Sasuke didn't respond, but pressed his lips to the top of her head, and sighed out of relief.

The next week, Sasuke's twentieth birthday was coming up, and Sakura bit her lip, not really knowing what she should get him. She was still shocked that he was only turning twenty, Sakura felt like she had been twenty for ages, even though her birthday was in March.

She knew she had to start thinking about some sort of present.

* * *

One rare day doing the hot summer, just under a week from Sasuke's birthday, there was a lovely breeze, and the humidity was low, so Sakura decided to have a nice picnic out in the garden, since it was slowly coming along. She spread out one of her old blankets over the soft grass, and had gone in to make some sandwiches, and lemonade with the leftover lemons Sasuke had picked. As she did, Sasuke came home from his two day mission, exhausted, but not injured. Sakura had stripped him of his shinobi gear and blindfolded him with his headband. He frowned, and reached for a tomato on the counter to eat, but she smacked his hand away and pulled him outside.

She shoved him onto the blanket, pulled off his blindfold and served them sandwiches and lemonade.

They sat cross legged, facing each other, while they finished their lunch. And after, when Sasuke's eyes closed in content, Sakura inched closer, until their knees weren't far from touching. Sasuke had raised an eyebrow at her and opened his eyes. Sakura looked at him innocently, and when his eyes closed again, she scooted a little bit closer, their knees were against each other. He opened his eyes once more, and let Sakura's small hands pull his own from his legs to place on her waist. He raised an eyebrow again.

"Sakura-"

She shushed him and leaned closer, so that their noses were touching. A small blush spread to his cheeks.

"Aa." She shushed him once more and looked into his eyes, her fingers crawling their way to his thighs. His blush deepened slightly. She looked at his face, taking in the calm eyes, raised eyebrow and ever so slightly parted lips.

Before he could utter a word, she placed her lips on his in a small kiss. His eyes slowly closed, as did hers, before she pulled back, her sweet breath fanning his face. He let out a small puff of breath before she did it again, and this time he kissed back. But, just as he was getting into it, Sakura pulled away again. He fought the urge to scowl at his wife.

His hands moved from her waist to attempt to cup her cheeks and bring her back to his lips, but she tutted and placed them back on her waist. He frowned.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his once more, and his hands quickly shot up to cup her cheeks, holding her in place, his tongue moving against her lower lip. She made a small noise, and her fingers squeezed his thighs. She bit his lower lip gently, sucking on it, earning a small moan from Sasuke's throat. He pressed his lips against hers harder, one of his hands moving down to Sakura's hip. Within seconds, he had her in his lap, his lips moving feverishly against hers.

Just as she was about to wrap her arms around his neck, he hesitated, and pulled away. He leaned his head onto her shoulder and let out a sigh.

"I don't want to..", she heard him swallow, searching for the right words, "repeat ..." She smiled. He must of meant their past encounters. She blushed and kissed his forehead, stroking her hair.

"It's alright." She murmured.

And they didn't go further than that for the rest of the day. But Sakura was okay with it, she knew it was a process.

* * *

A few days before Sasuke's birthday, while Sasuke was on another mission, Sakura went over to visit Naruto, realizing she still had to apologize to him. Gah, it seemed she had a lot of making up to do with everyone nowadays. She was just walking up the stairs to reach Naruto's door, when it opened. She hastily, without thinking, hid behind the wall of his apartment, turning her head to look at what was going on.

She recognized the long purple hair, and blushed, her hand covering her mouth to hold in a giggle.

Hinata was stood outside of Naruto's open door in a rumpled dress, the straps hanging off her shoulders. She turned back towards the door, watching a shirtless Naruto rub the back of his neck as he leaned against the doorway.

"Sorry I have to leave early, Naruto-kun.." Hinata whispered and a small smile came to Naruto's face.

"That's alright. I'll call you tonight after training." He leaned forward and placed a long kiss to his girlfriends lips, her hands palm down on his chest. Hinata blushed, kissed his cheek and disappeared down the stairs. Sakura waited for a few minutes after Naruto closed the door before knocking. Naruto opened the door and smiled, now clad in a shirt.

"Oh, hey Sakura-chan! I just woke up. Come in." He let her in and closed the door behind them. Sakura waited until they were both stood, facing each other in the living room before Sakura shot him the biggest, sliest grin she could muster.

"Naruto, you sly fox. I saw Hinata leaving your house just now." She laughed evily and Naruto blushed scarlet red and yelped. He collapsed on the floor.

"_SAKURA-CHAN_!"

Sakura howled in laughter and collapsed on his couch, holding her stomach, trying to catch a breath.

"Naruto.. you should..see .. your face..." She forced out between bouts of laughter. Naruto, still beet red sat down next to her on the couch and pouted, crossing his arms.

"Sakura-chan!" He whined. Sakura calmed herself and planted a kiss on his cheek, leaning back to catch a breath.

"Ah.. you sly devil." She folded her arms behind her head as Naruto gaped like a fish and shook his head.

"Did you come over here to mock me or what, Sakura-chan?" She smiled and leaned forward and smiled.

"Actually I came over to apologize. For everything. Especially the other night when Sasuke showed up at your door, knocked out." Naruto swallowed.

"D-Does that you mean you know about Sasuke coming here and telling me everything?"

"Mhm." Naruto heaved out a large sigh of relief and fell back on the couch.

"Thank Kami! I didn't know how much longer I could keep it from you, it hurt me to not be able to talk to you about it." Sakura looked at her friend, who had tears in his eyes. She reached out to put her hand on his.

"Naruto-"

"I tried, Sakura. I really did. Every time he came over to my house in the middle of the night or day I wanted to beat the shit out of him. I even told him every time when he confided in me how sickening what he was doing was. I tried to get him to talk to you, but he refused to, the stubborn ass. I can't tell you how many times we got up in each others faces and were just flat out screaming bloody murder at each other, I can't believe you never heard it from the Uchiha compound.. I-"

"Naruto. It's in the past. Everything is okay now. Sasuke told me everything. You're okay. We're okay. We're happy." And this time, she meant it. She cupped Naruto's cheek and he covered her hand with his and pulled her into a hug.

"I love you, Sakura-chan." She smiled and hugged him back tightly.

"I love you too, Naruto." She pulled away, wiping her eyes and grinned at him.

"So what are we doing for Sasuke's birthday in a few days?" Naruto's eyes widened and he flew out of his seat and rushed to the calendar on his wall, squinting at the date before yelling out Sakura's name. She returned his look with a raised eyebrow.

"We gotta throw teme a surprise party!" Sakura grinned.

* * *

After planning out the details of Sasuke's party with Naruto for a solid two hours, she snuck back into the Uchiha compound, not expecting Sasuke to be home, but he was. She was standing in the living room, looking absentmindedly at her medical books, deciding which one to ready when a pair of warm hands gripped her hips and turned her around. She jumped.

"Ne, Sasuke, you scared me." He smirked.

"Hn."

"How was your mission?"

" was another tailing one." She smiled and planted a kiss on his lips, her hands pulling off his ANBU mask from the top of his head. He sighed contently, and closed his eyes. She leaned her head onto his chest, her hands placing themselves on his biceps.

"Kakashi says hello." Sakura's eyes opened and she looked up at Sasuke.

"Oh! Was he at the market again?"

"Aa. Shopping for Anko." Sakura smiled and let out a small giggle. "I hope I won't be that needy when I'm pregnant." She commented softly. A small blush formed on Sasuke's cheeks, and he pulled his hands from her hips to stretch. Sakura looked at his grimacing face and smiled.

"Would you like me to run you a nice hot bath? I brought some new incense from the market yesterday, it's not too sweet, it's just jasmine." Sasuke sighed and nodded, taking his mask from his wife's hands.

"I'll be in in a minute." He said and Sakura nodded, heading to the bath room and began to run the hot water. She lit a stick of incense and one small candle, giggling at the thought of Sasuke lounging in a bathtub and turned to exit the room, almost running into his chest once more. She stood back and looked at him, his steady gaze boring into her eyes. She bit her lip, lightly blushing, before helping him remove his white vest and gloves. She folded them and put them on the small side table and grabbed the end of his shirt, pulling it gently over his head.

She turned back around to undress the rest of himself and grabbed his towel from the bathroom. When she came back in, he was lounging in the hot water, his head back, eyes closed. She smiled and leaned against the door frame, her arms hugging the towel. He cracked open an eye, saw her watching him and smirked.

"Hn."

She put his towel down on the table and bent to pick up his pants. Just as she was leaving the room, his voice stopped her.

"Stay." She blushed and turned to him, watching his eyes. She nodded.

"A-ah.. alright." She kneeled by the head end of the oval tub, her arms between her knees. Sasuke leaned forward and rested his arms on the side of the porcelain, his nose touching Sakura's. She closed her eyes, and felt his lips gingerly touch hers, before pulling away.

"Hn."

She giggled and turned away from him, reaching for the body wash. She turned back to him, handing it over and found his face was close to hers again. She parted her lips as he once more kissed her. She kissed back before he pulled away from her and squeezed some of the body wash into his hand and scrubbed his arms and shoulder.

Sakura blushed and averted her eyes. When had they become so intimate? She bit her lip and focused her eyes on the small, landscape painting in the corner of the room.

There was so much she wanted to talk to him about, but nothing in particular came to mind when she opened her mouth. So she began singing a small tune. After a minute of silence, she slowly stopped herself and closed her mouth.

"Don't stop singing, Sakura." She jumped and looked to her husband, and blushed. She continued singing, her gaze holding his. It was a small song she and Ino used to sing when they were kids. When the song ended, they sat in silence for a moment before Sakura thought of a random topic to talk about.

"Do you remember when the photographer was trying to take our wedding photo and Naruto kept distracting us?"

"Hn, such a dobe." Sakura giggled, and held a hand to her lips.

"I remember that he made a rude gesture at the photographer and ended up getting restraining order in the mail a week later from him." Sakura laughed lightly, and saw Sasuke smirk, his eyes closed.

"He's our dobe." Sakura nodded, and looked down.

"He really is. Sadly." Sasuke chuckled.

* * *

They day before his birthday, Sasuke surprised her with a dinner reservation at a small restaurant across town. Incidentally, the same restaurant they had their first date at. It had been a nice evening, with Sasuke telling her a story about the first time he cooked for himself, which Sakura giggled at, and they arrived home.

They had moved into the living room and Sasuke collapsed on the futon, his head falling back, eyes closing. Sakura was going to join him when she dropped her earring on the carpet. While searching for it she had been on her hands and knees, finally found it and replaced it in her ear and realized that she was kneeling between Sasuke's knees.

Her breath hitched and Sasuke opened his eyes, looking down at her. He parted his lips and licked them and Sakura blushed, beginning to get up, but Sasuke's hand to her cheek stopped her. She bit her lip, blushing deeper as his hand guided her to come closer until she was trapped between the v of his thighs. She read his eyes, knowing already what had his mind going and moved her hands up to touch his thighs. He let out a small breath as hands traveled farther up his legs, hesitating at the top of his thighs. She blushed again and averted her eyes.

He cupped her chin, bringing her eyes back to him, silently telling her that she could move out from in front of him if she wanted to. But, she took in a breath and kissed the palm of his hand, her hand gently gripping his wrist, as her other one moved up to undo his robe ties. She gently pulled the material aside, exposing his porcelain skin. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his chest, pressing kisses down his stomach, hearing him intake a breath. She stopped at the small trail of hair and the hem of his pants and blushed again.

She placed her hands on his inner thighs, and placed her lips back on his stomach, licking the skin. His fingers ran through her hair, a small sigh escaping his lips.

She could see the outline of him through the dark material of his pants and swallowed as she gripped his pants and slowly pulled them down his hips and then his pelvis and finally released him. She placed her hands back on his thighs and pressed up his body, her lips coming to meet the shell of his ear. She kissed it, biting down gently on the skin. She moved her right hand and wrapped her fingers around him, giving him a small squeeze.

His breath hitched and his hands squeezed her shoulders, his head falling back, lips open in a pant.

"Jesus, Sakura-" She blew into his ear and kissed the side of his face, and then his jawline and then his neck. Her hand began to slowly move up and down the soft skin, the pad of her thumb applying pressure. She moved her lips back up to kiss his open ones, her tongue snaking into his mouth. His hands gripped her ass, tugging her closer to him, his mouth kissing back heatedly, moaning into her lips. She increased the pace of her hands, rubbing her stomach over the tip, and he pulled away from her lips biting his own together, a long groan escaping his mouth.

Just as his panting became faster, she pressed her lips to his neck and pulled herself slowly back down his body, to kneel back between his legs, her hands still gripped around him. His hands buried themselves back in her hair and she turned her head to kiss his wrist before lowering her lips to his inner thigh, kissing the material clad skin.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at her, a small blush staining his pale cheeks. She kissed his other thigh, her eyes still on his and before he could open his mouth to say something, she took him in her mouth, letting out a long giggle that vibrated through his body. His head lulled back and he moaned loudly.

She increased the movement of her hands and her tongue snaked around him, and needless to say, Sasuke hit cloud nine in seconds. His hands gripped the back of her head, pressing her closer against him, his hips grinding against her movements. He slowly reached his high, calling out her name softly, and after he did, panting heavily, Sakura pulled away from him, licking her lips and gently gripped his thighs.

Not knowing what to do next, she blushed deeply, kissed his lips and disappeared into the bathroom to change with a small squeal, leaving Sasuke blushing heavily, panting on the couch in the living room.

_Kami, where had that confidence come from?_


	12. XII

**A/N:** _Well it's Sasuke's birthday, so you know what that means! A little lemon, yay!_

* * *

The plan for Sasuke's birthday, now today, was for Sakura to pull Sasuke out for a day for the two of them, and then she would drag him back to Naruto's place for a 'greeting'. And then everyone would pop out and the party would begin. At first, Sakura had suggested doing it at the Uchiha compound, but she hesitated, not wanting to push Sasuke to much, she didn't want to push him away like last time. So instead, they planned to cram every one Sasuke knew into Naruto's one bedroom apartment.

And of course, Sakura had her own little surprises for Sasuke.

The minute she felt the sunlight hit her face from the window, she opened her eyes, smiling happily. She kissed both of Sasuke's cheeks, ignoring his grumbling and rolled him over onto his back, her thighs straddling his hips. He smirked and opened his eyes, running his hands slowly up his wife's torso. He hesitated when he realized she was completely naked. He blushed and swallowed.

That was surprise one. She sat up straight on top of him and threw her head back, pulling his hands up over her breasts and up to her hair. She kissed both of his arms, ignoring the heat between their legs. She opened her eyes and looked back down at her husband.

"Happy birthday, Sasuke." She whispered, huskily, leaning down to plant a long kiss his lips. He had immediately kissed back, his hands gripping her hips, intending to flip them over so he could ravish his wife, but Sakura stopped him, jumping from the bed, laughing.

"There will be more time for that later." She shrugged on her robe and kissed his forehead, ignoring his scowl and large blush. He adjusted himself in bed, trying to .. cool down certain things before he got up to shower. Sakura disappeared down the hallway and into the kitchen as Sasuke got in the shower.

She used her keen shinobi ears to hear him running the shower water and hastily grilled some tomatoes and grabbed a candle from the kitchen drawer. She popped some toast into the toaster and started the coffee maker. She quickly prepared his breakfast and arranged the table, jamming the candle in his piece of toast with tomato. She lit it, and scrambled to fix everything as she heard the water top and the bathroom door open. She knew she only had moments before he would be dressed and downstairs. She skidded out into the hallway and stood in the doorway of the kitchen, her arms holding his headband behind her back.

As he slowly emerged into the hallway, dressed for the day, she stopped him and blindfolded him. He scowled.

"Sakura-" She hushed him and pulled him into the kitchen, sitting him down at the table. He sniffed, smelling the delicious scent of tomatoes and coffee, and smirked. Then, he felt a warm weight straddle his thigh. He blushed as Sakura slowly pulled his blindfold off and he looked up to see her on his thigh, her hand holding up a small piece of toast and tomato on a fork to his lips.

He blushed and accepted the food, letting her feed him. But after a few bites, Sakura pulled away from him gently, not wanting to agitate him, and let him finish his breakfast by himself. She headed into the bedroom to change and brush her teeth. When she emerged in the kitchen, Sasuke was standing up by the sink, placing his empty dishes in.

He turned to her and just stood there. She bit her lip and shrugged.

"Happy birthday..again?" She murmured weakly and Sasuke sighed.

* * *

Instead of taking Sasuke out and about until the party, Sakura decided to ask Sasuke to help her clean up the garden, seeing that he wasn't too thrilled with the forcefeeding from breakfast. He silently helped her trim the bushes and rake up the leaves, and they sat in the grass, looking up at the clouds. Sakura, seeing that Sasuke's eyes had closed, slowly inched herself towards him and laid her head on his shoulder. He sighed and put his lips to her head, before pulling away, gently.

"So annoying." He muttered and Sakura giggled.

Just before two, Sakura asked Sasuke if he would like to go out to eat with her. She bit her lip at his silence, but he finally agreed. He held out his arm for her as they exited the compound, but this time, his hand came to rest over her fingers at his elbow. She walked the two down the streets towards a small cafe, where they indulged in a small lunch and tea. Sakura sat in silence, not wanting to ruin the moment, nor push her husband too far.

"Are you mad?" She murmured, holding her tea cup to her chest. Sasuke looked up at her, his eyes gentle.

"No." She smiled and looked down at her empty plate.

"I just wanted to give you a nice birthday."

"Aa." Which translated to _I understand_.

* * *

Sakura had given him her excuse for visiting Naruto's after (_"He is your best friend, Sasuke." "Hn fine.") _and had gently led him towards Naruto's appartment. But when he reached the top of the stairs, he stopped, frowning.

He was a shinobi, of course he sensed the mass of chakra signatures coming from Naruto's house, which sort of ruined the surprise. He turned to his wife, frowning. She looked at him sheepishly, but didn't pull him towards the door. He looked down, a scowl on his face. Her small hand cupped his cheek, pulling his eyes up to meet her gentle gaze.

"You don't have to go in if you don't want to, Sasuke." She murmured. He sighed gently and cupped her wrist in his hand.

"If I don't the dobe will kill me." Sakura smiled slowly.

"If you're sure-"

"Aa."

She stroked his cheek and turned to lead him up to the door. He sighed loudly this time and swung open the door, almost thrown back at the scream of "SURPRISE!", mostly because, even over everyone else yelling it, Naruto had somehow been the loudest and was off the decibel scale.

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose and frowned.

"Be quiet, dobe."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, TEME?"

The two glared at each other and Sakura smiled sheepishly. Then the party started.

* * *

She let Sasuke slowly do his own thing, while she talked to everyone, saying hello to Kakashi and Anko, Shizune, Hinata, Ino and Shikamaru, everyone else and then Neji and Tenten. She was happily discussing the wedding with them when Sasuke placed his hand on her waist and appeared next to her. She smiled, and resumed chatting happily with Tenten.

"Happy birthday, Uchiha." Neji raised his glass to the man, who looked away.

"Hn."

"Hn."

"Hn."

Sakura and Tenten giggled. "Jesus, it's like they're the same person." Tenten whispered, earning a glare from Neji. Sakura smiled and leaned towards Sasuke a bit, her hand squeezing his arm, before she pulled it away.

"So what color robes are we wearing as your bridesmaids, Ten?" Tenten beamed, and Neji threw an arm around her, grunting.

"Well... I chose a baby blue! I thought it worked with the color scheme. And we'll make a date for dress fittings next week, so us girls can get together. And of couse, Neji", she elbowed her fiance in the ribs, who grunted louder, "Will have to have his own little fitting with his groom party."

The two girls smiled happily, while Neji and Sasuke scowled at each other. Sakura and Tenten exchanged awkward laughs.

"_TIME FOR SOME BODY SHOTS! WHO'S IN? WHAT ABOUT THE BIRTHDAY BOY? COME ON TEME!" _

Sasuke sighed heavily and cursed at his best friend's loud voice.

* * *

Sasuke escorted Sakura home after the long party, his hand covering hers.

"Did you have fun?" She turned to look at Sasuke, who looked away.

"Aa." Sakura sighed and stopped walking, causing Sasuke to stop too. He looked back at her in question. She bit her lip and turned to him.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke.." She bowed her head and found his lips at her hair. She blushed as he let out a small breath.

"Don't be." They continued walking, and Sakura's fingers stroked his arm gently.

"You know.. your birthday isn't over just yet.." She bit her lip, blushing harder, and Sasuke looked away, opening the door for her. They stepped inside, and Sakura immediately tugged his hand, pulling him towards the bedroom. She closed the door behind him and stood facing him, her confidence suddenly gone. Sasuke gripped her elbows, and leaned down to press his forehead to hers, closing his eyes.

"Thank you." She swallowed, and when his lips found hers, she regained her confidence. She stood on her tiptoes, her hands cupping the back of his neck and kissed him back. His arms went around her, pulling her flush against him, but she pulled away. She looked up at him, a nervous smile on her lips. Sasuke tilted his head in question, but remained silent.

"Can-can I do something?" Sasuke frowned, and blinked.

"Aa." She leaned her head into his neck and pressed a kiss there, before looking back up at him.

"Lie down." She whispered, and led him towards the bed. He did so, a questioning look on his face, but Sakura bit her lip, avoiding his eyes. She backed up and towards her dresser, her hands gripping an item from behind her.

"Close your eyes." Sasuke leaned his head back and did so, sort of curious at what was happening, but decided to just go with it. He swallowed, feeling the tips of his ears heat up.

"Sakura-" He started, but then felt something cool and soft cover his eyes. He sighed, and raised his hand to take off the blindfold to look at his wife, but her small hand clutched his wrist, pulling it back down to his side.

"Please." She whispered, and he swallowed heavily at the sound of her voice. Sakura bit her lip and quickly rushed over to her vanity, pulling her hair up, and fixing her makeup. She added a touch of lipstick, before taking in a breath and heading back over to the bed.

She straddled Sasuke's hips, and his lips parted slightly, letting out a small breath.

"Let me know if you want me to stop." She blushed and put her hands on his stomach, slowly pulling his shirt up to his chest. She leaned down and pressed her lips to his stomach, her tongue darting out to lick and suck at the skin. Sasuke let out another breath. She slowly pushed his shirt all the way up to his neck, making sure he still couldn't peak out from under his blindfold, and kissed his chest, her lips darting out to cover his nipple. He hissed in a breath and let out another, a small blush on his cheeks.

She pulled his arms up and gently yanked the shirt over his head and tossed it aside, her hands going to pull off her own shirt. She pulled his hands onto her lower thighs, and undid her bra, slipping it off and tossing it away. She continued to kiss his chest as his hands slid up her legs, reached the hem of her skirt, and kept going. His breath hitched when he discovered that she had nothing on underneath.

She pulled his hands away and placed them on her shoulder blades, continuing to kiss his collarbones, her own hands sliding down his stomach to undo his pants. His lips parted and then he tried to speak.

"Kiss me." He commanded, not liking not being able to see what she was doing. She bit her lip but let out a small giggle.

"No." She whispered into his ear, licking the shell. He shivered and clutched her shoulder blades, a small scowl forming on his face. She continued to undo his pants and then lifted herself into a kneeling position above him. Using her hands, she guided his lower half to raise up as she slid his pants off, and tossed them onto the floor. She placed herself right over his crotch, grinding her hips to his. Sasuke hissed.

His hands tried to move down to cup her ass to guide her to continue her movements, but Sakura grabbed his hands firmly, and put them at his sides.

"No, Sasuke. This is your day." He turning his head away from her, still red, a small pout on his lips. Sakura giggled again, and loomed over him, her lips pressing kisses to every part of his body, except his lips. He growled, his hands itching to touch her, but he restrained them. She moved from her position in his lap, ignoring his grunt of disapproval and slid out of her skirt. She straddled him once more and yanked his boxers down with one fluid motion, and positioned herself at his tip.

She grabbed his hands and slid them up to cup her breasts, something he had never done in their marriage. She tilted her head back, grinding against him as he kneaded the soft skin. She whimpered, which led Sasuke to groan lightly. Finally she placed herself over him and slid down, and began to move against him. As she did, she remembered the last time she had been in his lap and blushed. But this was different. This time, she would make him touch her all over and kiss her feverishly.

Sasuke slowly started to pant, his hips gyrating upwards to heed to her movements, and Sakura pressed her palms to his chest, continuing to thrust against him. His hands moved from her chest to grip her behind, guiding her faster on him, his lips completely open. She waited for him to say her name, she knew he was close to it. She continued, letting out a small mewl, and he breathed heavily.

"Sakura.." He growled.

She moved her hand to his blindfold and ripped it off of him, tossing it away. His eyes opened and stared up at her, immediately knowing he was done for. She was glowing, a red tinge to her cheeks as she moved against him and his eyes traveled up to her hair and he cursed out loud. She had twisted her hair back up with that clip again. His head thumped against the pillow. _Kami, she was a goddess. _

"Touch me." She commanded, her voice high and strong. Sasuke's hands moved over her body before finally resting on her cheeks. He then moved his hands back down to her hips, continuing to guide her as he got closer.

"Kiss me." Came the second command. She leaned down and Sasuke's lips captured hers, tongue binding with hers. He bit her lip, sucking on the skin, earning a small whimper from Sakura, who continued to grip his chest. He kissed her entire face, but went no further, and instead, continued to kiss her lips hungrily. Finally when he was close, Sakura pulled away from his lips but gripped his cheeks, willing him to look at her through a half lidded gaze.

"Come for me, Sasuke." She slammed herself against him, and with one more thrust, he arched his back, his lips opening in in a large scream.

"_SAKURA_." He yelled out, and Sakura bit her lip, her legs beginning to shake. She let out a small whimper and came down off her high, collapsing on his chest, panting. She could feel Sasuke breathing heavily too, and blushed, realizing what she had just done.

And that was the day that Uchiha Sakura figured out her husband was secretly a screamer in bed.

* * *

The day after Sasuke's birthday, Sakura had avoided him, hiding out for most of the morning and afternoon at work, and then spent her dear time at the market, getting food after. She had taken her time to get home and hidden out in the kitchen, putting things away and made a cold dinner for once and left it in the fridge for Sasuke. She ate her own, and didn't wait up for him to come home from his mission. After she ate, she caught herself up on her research and then took a cold shower and headed to bed.

She curled up on her side away from Sasuke's side of the bed, but she guessed in her sleep, she had turned onto the other side, because she awoke when he came in the bedroom later, and he slipped into the bed beside her, his arm quickly wrapping around her waist. He fell asleep instantly, obviously tired. Sakura closed her eyes and fell asleep after him.

The next few days had been a bit silent for them, as both Sasuke and Sakura didn't know how to deal with the situation of such intimacy that occurred on his birthday. They ate in silence and when they caught each others eyes, they blushed and looked away. The next day, Sakura was relieved to have a date for a dress fitting with Tenten, so she left Sasuke a note that she would be back in time to cook dinner, and left the house for the day.

While trying on different robe styles, Sakura had bit her lip and turned to Ino, making sure her other friends weren't listening.

"Uhm..Ino?" The blonde girl jumped, and turned towards her best friend.

"Hm?" Sakura blushed.

"Aah.. have you .. ah.. ever been the dominant one during sex before?" She whispered. Ino raised and eyebrow and pulled Sakura over to the secluded area of the store, folding her arms.

"Forehead, tell me _everything_."

Sakura quickly detailed what had happened the night of Sasuke's birthday, a large blush covering her cheeks. Ino sat in silence, tappign her cheek, analyzing the right response. She shrugged.

"Seems to me that Sasuke is just a bit embarrassed at the whole contact. Give him a few days, he'll get over it. It's new for him, up until now, he's always been the leader in sex, right? And it's Sasuke, so he doesn't show much emotion, so he's probably trying to process the fact that you just owned his ass in the sexiest way possible."

Sakura blushed, and looked away.

"I-I guess so.." She trailed off, looking out the window. She hoped she hadn't pushed Sasuke too far.

* * *

Sakura got caught up in the fitting, and so none of the girls got home til late that night, as all of them couldn't decide on which dress style they liked the most. Sakura walked home quickly, hoping Sasuke was okay with her being home later, and slipped in the door.

"Sasuke?" She called out, and headed into the kitchen.

"Aa." She turned around and found him in the doorway of the kitchen. He uncrossed his arms and walked towards her, pressing his lips to her hair before pulling away. Sakura smiled guiltily.

"I am so sorry I'm late! We got caught up at the tailer's and couldn't decide.. ah.. well I apologize. Did you get something to eat or do you want me to make something?" Her own stomach rumbled. Sasuke headed towards the the stove and opened it, pulling out a small plate of rice and chicken. He placed it down on the table for her and sat down opposite her as she began to dig in.

"This is marvelous, thank you, Sasuke." She smiled and finished her food quickly. She cleaned up the plates in the sink and felt Sasuke's arms wrap around her waist, his face in the back of her hair.

"Come sit with me outside." She smiled and nodded. "Go ahead, I'll be out in a second."

He pulled away and headed out to the screen door, closing it behind him. Sakura pulled off her coat, fixed her hair and joined him outside. She went to sit down, when Sasuke pulled her onto his lap, his arms wrapping around her tightly. She let out a small noise of surprise, and Sasuke smirked. Then his gaze softened.

"I-" He started, but blushed, turning his head to the side. Sakura watched him calmly, her cool hand caressing his cheek He swallowed and continued, averting his gaze from her eyes.

"I really enjoyed my birthday." He huffed out a breath and looked down. Sakura pulled his face up to meet her eyes, a small smile on her lips.

"I'm glad." She blushed and kissed his lips quickly, before pulling away. "I-I enjoyed spicing up our sex life." She laughed at her words, realizing they sounded weird, and had felt weird to say. Sasuke chuckled, a small blush on his cheeks.

"You're...", Sasuke swallowed heavily, "very sexy on top." He looked away quickly again, and Sakura giggled. She leaned her head into his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"I'm glad you're a screamer, Uchiha Sasuke."

"Tch."

* * *

They had stayed outside on the porch and watched the sun go down, Sakura still in Sasuke's lap, her back to his chest, and Sasuke's arm around her, his chin on her shoulder. She had slowly fallen asleep at the comforting silence, and Sasuke had carried her indoors and to the bed, where he slowly took off her pants and shirt, and pulled her under the covers and into his arms.

"I-I lo-" He started quietly, but hesitated and stopped. He heard Sakura's breathing become shallow, as she fell into a deeper sleep, and Sasuke's eyes closed, his head lulling onto her shoulder.

* * *

**A/N: **_Ladies and gents, Sasuke still has a lot of progress to make. But for real, that comment. Tch, he totally digs it when Sakura is on top, we all know it. _


	13. XIII

**A/N:** _I won't be uploading so many chapters as I did yesterday and the day before, I gotta do some packing for college. But, I'm still on track, even through it feels so weird to go from a cold Sasuke and a dark start to the story to this light plot. But oh well, as long as it still flows. And there is also a little bit of crack OOC, that I couldn't resist adding for Tenten. Gotta keep the readers laughing somehow, ne? Enjoy!_

* * *

The next day, Neji arranged for a robe's fitting for his grooms party, so Sasuke grumpily got up early to go training before hand, leaving Sakura half-awake, whispering that she would see him when she woke up later. He pressed his lips to her forehead, grabbed a tomato and disappeared from the house. When Sakura awoke, later on in the morning, she took her time getting ready, and this time, decided to leave her hair down. She curled the ends, and added a bit of pink lipstick.

White waiting for Sasuke to return, she hung around the house, cleaning, when the phone rang. It was Ino, who sounded giggly and bubbly.

"Morning, Sak. You heard about Neji's grooms party fitting today?"

"Of course, Ino, it's at eleven, why?"

"Well, a bunch of us girls are going. I mean, it's not bad luck with the whole 'seeing the outfit' or whatever with the guys, and Tenten has to go anyways to make sure Neji get's the right size and color. And you know how Neji is in public, Tenten has to keep him on his toes, so to speak. Naruto already asked Hinata if she wanted to come with him, Shika's asking his mom to babysit Shin for the day, so yeah. If I were you, I'd tag along with Sasuke. Anyways, see you at eleven, maybe!"

She hung up soon after, and Sakura giggled. Seeing Sasuke get fitted for wedding robes? She had never had the chance to be there for his own wedding fitting, so she decided she would ask him if he wanted her to come with him. She put the telephone back and headed into the kitchen to pour out a cup of coffee. She was almost done, when the door opened, and Sasuke entered.

"Morning." She smiled happily and he pressed his hand gently to her cheek, pulling away when he realized he was sweaty. Sakura blushed. Sasuke with sweat covering his skin just made him look even more like a god. She bit her lip at Sasuke's raised eyebrow and questioning look, and shrugged.

"Hey, Ino called me and said that she, Hinata and Tenten are all going to be at the dress fitting, so if you wan't, I could tag along, if you feel uncomfortable having to make small talk with Neji." She grinned at him, and Sasuke plopped down in the chair, his head falling back.

"_Please._" Sakura laughed.

"Well alright then." She walked over to Sasuke and perched herself in his lap, still sipping her coffee. His head burrowed into her neck, inhaling the sweet scent of her newly washed hair. He sighed again.

"How was training?" Sakura reached out and stroked his hair, as Sasuke's hands found her waist.

"Tiring. I had to push myself extra hard so I can control myself later from killing the dobe." Sakura giggled.

"Oh, Sasuke, you know Naruto, he'll try his hardest to irritate you anyways."

"Sadly." He grumbled, and snaked his arms around her, his warm breath fanning her collarbones. She blushed and wriggled in her lap, making sure he hadn't fallen asleep. She wiped the sweat from his forehead and set down her coffee mug on the table.

"I suppose you should go shower before we leave."

Sasuke stood up, Sakura still in his lap, and her legs instinctively hooked around his hips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, blushing. He said nothing as he carried her towards the bathroom, and set her down on her feet, looking away from her, the tips of his ears red. He swallowed, opening his mouth to say something, but Sakura's cool fingers were already at the hem of his shirt, pulling the sweat material over his head. What he wanted to say was that he loved it when she stripped him of his clothes so.. so... lovingly, so much like a wife, but he held his breath, knowing it wouldn't come out right.

Sakura picked up his clothes and left him to hop into the shower, as she cleaned up, putting his sweaty outfit in the hamper. She cleaned up the kitchen, and stood in the hallway, looking at her hair in the entryway mirror. She scowled.

There was one piece, _one stupid little piece of hair_, that refused to curl. The rest of her ends bounced with ringlet curls, but that one piece... it was completely straight. Sakura growled, attempting to wrap the piece around her finger, to curl it, when Sasuke chuckled from behind her, and she jumped. Kami, how long had she been standing there? She inhaled his wintergreen shampoo scent and leaned against him, closing her eyes.

"What do you see, Sakura?" He whispered in her ear, and her eyes snapped open. She blushed and turned to look in the mirror at their appearance. His hands snaked around her midsection, and rested his palms on her flat stomach.

"I see happiness." She murmured, and stroked Sasuke's arms. He smirked into her hair, his eyes falling shut.

"Me too." She turned her head in his embrace and pushed her lips onto his, and his tongue automatically snaked out to meet hers. Her hand cupped the side of his chin, her other hand resting on his arm, fingers squeezing his skin. He let out a soft groan against her lips that made Sakura want to melt into putty in his hands, and pulled away from her gently.

"We'll be late." He murmured, pressing his lips back to her head, before pulling away to finished getting ready. Sakura blushed and looked back in the mirror, her hands finding their way to her flat abdomen.

"Anytime now." She whispered, and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

* * *

They were only two changes into the fitting, and about thirty minutes in, and Neji was already frowning, Sasuke was scowling, and Naruto owed the store owner money for the robe he had ripped. Sakura let out a little giggle as she sat with her friends on the small stools in the fitting rooms. The guys looked awkwardly at each other, all staring at their matching robes, and before Ino could open her mouth to make a joke, they all disappeared into their curtain covered rooms. Sakura let out another giggle.

"Are you sure they're grown men?" Ino whispered to Hinata, and the two laughed. Tenten rubbed her temples.

"Come on out, Neji, I wanna see a pretty smile on your face in that robe." She heard a grunt, and Neji slowly stepped out of his changing room, standing in front of the mass of mirrors. He frowned, but Tenten had hearts in her eyes. She kissed her fiance hard on the lips, leaving him to blush and pull at the collar of his robe. Tenten squealed.

"It's perfect! I love the design, the color, the fit- Yes!" She dragged him over to the store owner so he could take his measurements to order a gown be made ready. When she was done, she pushed Neji over to the shoes to choose a pair, which she decided not to breathe down his neck. She headed back over to the changing rooms, her hands on her hips.

"Alright guys, lets's see robe number three! Come on outtt!" There was a chorus of grumbles and curses, before all five men (including Lee and Kiba) stepped out of their rooms, and glared at each other. Then they saw their girlfriends faces, and all blushed. Each girl stood up, pulling the respectable man towards the individual mirrors, marveling at them. Lee and Kiba exchanged awkward looks, as Tenten pulled them over to the main mover, fussing over the best man and Kiba. Sakura smiled, looking towards her husband, and stood up, slowly making her way towards him. He smirked.

"You look handsome." She kissed his cheek and turned him towards the mirror, standing behind him. Her hands moved around him to tie up the robes wrap, fingers adjusting the material. He wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Alright, I'm goin' with robe number three! Neji get over here and stand in a group so I can see what you guys look like!" Sasuke sighed, and kissed his wife's head, before pulling away to stand next to Naruto, who was rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. The men grumbled, slowly grouping around Neji, who frowned deeper. Sakura moved to stand by Ino and Hinata, as Tenten folded her arms, tapping her chin. She nodded.

"Yep, number three it is! And it only took us three hours to decide!" She ignored the tired groans.

There was a large bang and then a familiar girlish scream.

"TENTEN STOP DOING THAT, DATTEBAYO!"

"THEN QUIT MAKING BUNNY EARS BEHIND SASUKE'S HEAD."

"Dobe." Came Sasuke's stoic response.

"NEJI QUIT FROWNING IT CAUSES WRINKLES! SASUKE I CAN SEE YOU SCOWLING, AND LEE STOP WITH THAT GODDAMN FLAMING YOUTH GRIN OR SO HELP ME- KIBA STOP SCRATCHING YOUR HAIR, YOU BETTER NOT HAVE FLEAS-"

The entire room sweatdropped at Tenten's yelling. But no one commented on her Bridezilla-like nature.

* * *

"Let's get some dinner." Sakura jumped, looking at her husband as they walked down the street. He blushed and clutched her hand closer to the crook of his elbow. Sakura beamed, nodding.

"Alright. Where would you like to go?" He chose a small cafe, and they sat in silence, digging in, since they hadn't gotten to eat lunch, courtesy of Tenten's insistence that no one was leaving until everything was perfect. Sakura smiled and looked down at her bowl of soup.

"Ah.. it .. it really made me happy to see you trying on wedding robes, even if they weren't the grooms ones. I'm glad I could see it, since I never got to be in Tenten's position." She bit her lip. It was true. Sakura and her mother were in charge of everything for the weeding, down to the last flower and dinner menu, but Sasuke had chosen his own grooms robes, and done it alone. However, Sakura didn't dwell on this, and instead chose to savor the moment she had just experienced.

"Good." She smiled at her husband who looked away smirking.

"You'll get another chance anyways, I'm sure Naruto will want a large groom part for his wedding." Sakura beamed. Cha, she couldn't wait until that wedding! And she secretly knew that Naruto would ask Sasuke to be his best man. She bit her lip to hold back a smile. She tried to imagine Sasuke giving the best man's speech, but couldn't.

When they had finished, he quietly walked her over to the small movie theatre and bought them tickets to one of the drama movies. In the darkness of the theatre, his arm snaked around her shoulders, and she placed her head into the curve of his neck, smiling. They both knew that this was his way of slowly making up for their lack of courting before their marriage. Sasuke was slowly, but surely trying to redo their relationship. And Sakura was thoroughly enjoying it.

When they walked home, and reached the front door, Sasuke stopped short, so Sakura reached out to open it, but Sasuke placed his hand over hers to stop her. She turned to him, her lips parted, when she slowly pressed her up against the closed door, one hand on the wooden surface by her face, the other cupping her hip gently. She reached up to stoke his neck, and his lips fell on hers feverishly, biting her lower lip. Nevertheless, they stood there, full on making out against the compound door, before Sasuke slowly pulled away, and leaned his lips to her forehead. He closed his eyes.

"Thank you for the wonderful date, Sasuke, we should do it again another time." Sakura giggled.

"Hn. You're welcome." She smiled, and let them inside, closing the door behind her. They stood in the hallway, not really knowing what to say, when Sasuke's husky voice came out of no where, his words making Sakura's eyes widen.

"Do-Do you have sex on the first date?" He blushed and looked away. She smiled, and placed her hands behind her back, her eyes closing.

"Nope." Sasuke frowned at this, inwardly unhappy with her answer.

Then she pinned him against the hallway wall, and slid down his body to kneel in front of him, her lips very close to his groin. He blushed deeper, his hands burying themselves in her hair. She looked up at him, grinning.

"But I always liked third base." She finished happily, her hand already reaching to undo Sasuke's pants.

* * *

The hospital was quiet the next morning, and even Hana at the lobby desk was slowly falling asleep, her hands cupping her chin. All was silent. Sakura finished her rounds, adjusted the dosage on a patient's IV and headed upstairs, intending to continue her thesis research. However, as she was passing the numbered doors, she slowly came to a stop at the door on her left, eyes turning to read the name of the room.

_Fertility Testing._

The main branch of Konaha's hospital was well funded, and had numerous floors and rooms offering any kind of tests, machines and scanners. Pretty much any and every need during surgery and diagnosing a patient was possible. Sakura swallowed, her hand braced over the doorknob. She opened the door and slipped in.

She guessed that she just wanted to make sure her levels were okay, that her body was creating the right amount of hormones and performing healthily. But in the back of her mind, she wanted to make sure that she was fertile enough to conceive.

She stood in front of the printer an hour later, tapping her foot, and crossing her arms nervously. She it her lip, waiting for the test results to print. She ripped the paper out of the printer and scanned the sheet, reading everything, before her eyes started to water. She collapsed against the counter, letting out a large cry.

_Thank Kami._

Her fertility levels were good, in fact, she was on the better side of the spectrum, indicating she was in good standing. She read her other results. Good estrogen levels, perfect hormone function... healthy blood work.. She smiled happily.

"Cha!" She clutched the paper to her chest, letting tears of happiness slip down her cheeks.

* * *

A few weeks from Tenten's wedding, Sakura decided to spend her day off work cleaning the house and doing laundry. She and Sasuke had never left the house dirty, but in such a large place, dust accumulation happened very frequently. She stood up from the bed and flounced into the bathroom to shower. Her stomach cramped slightly, and her thighs ached, among other things. But then again, she knew why, she and Sasuke had had a few glasses of wine last night and then spent the rest of the night in the bedroom with the moonlight caressing their skin. Sakura blushed.

Ever since Sasuke's birthday, he had insisted with body language that she be on top. She laughed and pushed the memory away, drying her hair and changed into sweats. She rubbed her stomach and headed to the kitchen. She took an apple out of the fruit bowl and bit into it.

Immediately, a bitter taste filled her mouth, making her gag. She spat out the apple piece into the trash, and then chucked the rest of it out too, wiping her mouth.

Must have gone off, she thought, and reached to get a glass of water. After that, she wasn't as hungry, so she headed to the bathroom to grab the laundry hamper. She did the laundry and grabbed the cleaning supplies, starting first with the other side of the house.

She and Sasuke mostly used the left side of the compound, including the master bedroom, kitchen, living room, office, laundry room and bathroom. However, connected with the hallway was a whole other part of the Uchiha compound. It included two empty bedrooms, a small bathroom in between, the weaponry room, and a dining room. When she had asked Sasuke one time if they wanted to use the dining room to eat dinner, he had promptly denied the request and shut the door. She assumed it was also a meeting room, based on the small bookshelf in the corner of the room.

The smaller of the two bedrooms was Sasuke's old room. There was a small futon bed inside, along with some of his old ninja gear (sakura giggled at the familiar wide necked shirts and white shorts), a picture of team 7, and his genin scrolls. She cleaned up quickly and left the room. The other room, she knew had been Itachi's. When Itachi left the village, he took much of his belongings with him, she assumed, and whatever he left, Sasuke got rid of. The room was empty of gear, pictures and clothes, so she cleaned up and left it.

She didn't bother with the weaponry room, knowing Sasuke kept it clean and dust free, and quickly cleaned the spare bathroom. When she and Sasuke had a child, she planned to ask him if they could turn one of the smaller bedrooms into a nursery for the baby. She headed to the laundry room, that was next to the weaponry room and Sasuke's old room, and ironed the clothes.

When she was done, she put the clean clothes in a wooden basket, hoisted it onto her hip and walked back into the bedroom to put their clothes away. She opened up one of Sasuke's drawers, and put a pair of his folded pants away, before her eyes caught something orange under the neat mass of dark materials. She frowned and gingerly pulled at the orange item, bringing it into view.

She dropped the laundry basket, letting out a scream, her face turning bright red. She shakily dropped the orange book onto the floor and took a step back away from it.

Why did Sasuke have a copy of Kakashi's Icha Icha books?

She blushed a deeper shade of red, not wanting to know why. But, that did explain his sudden interest in exploring... positions and other things. Her eye twitched. Just as she was about to open up the book to feed her curiousity, she heard the front door open. She let out a squeal, hastily picked up the book, replace it quietly and perfectly back where it belonged, and shut the drawer. She picked up her laundry basket and continued to put away her clothes, trying to calm her hands. She bit her lip, willing herself to stop blushing.

"Sakura?" Sasuke called from the house entryway. She calmed herself down.

"In here!" She finished putting away her clothes and turned to put the basket back in the laundry room and collided with Sasuke. His hand snaked out to catch her from falling, his eyebrow raised in question.

"Are you okay?"

Sakura jumped out of his reach and nodded furiously.

"Mhmm!" She ran past him to the laundry room and collapsed to the floor, letting out a sigh of relief. She didn't think she could meet his gaze for a while, especially with this secret she had just discovered. She finally calmed herself down again and headed into the kitchen. She put on a pot of tea, hearing Sasuke change out of his gear in the bedroom. He appeared in the hallway of the kitchen a minute later, now dressed in pants and a shirt. His hands placed itself on her back, and she jumped.

"Gah!" He raised an eyebrow at her once more, but she waved a hand at him, continuing to pour two cups of tea.

"I'm just jumpy today."

"Aa." He collapsed at the kitchen table, his head thrown back, eyes closed as he let out an exhausted sigh.

"I'm going to kill Naruto." He muttered. Sakura placed a cup of tea on the table before him, took her seat and listened as Sasuke told her about how Naruto had spent their entire morning spy mission blabbering about how he was going to propose to Hinata very soon, probably after Tenten and Neji's wedding. Sasuke told him to shut up, but Naruto blew their cover, landing them in a fight with a gangster. And then, when Tsunade screamed at the two for forty-five minutes, demanding to know who ruined the mission, Naruto had ratted Sasuke out. Sakura giggled.

She reached across the table to stroke his hand, quickly pulling away as her mind strayed to the orange book.

"Ah.. that's Naruto for you, huh?" She laughed awkwardly.

* * *

A few days later, Sasuke had asked her out on another "date", and Sakura had happily agreed. They had gone out for a few drinks and ran into Ino and Shikamaru at the bar. They got talking, rather, Ino and Sakura talked while Shikimaru commented once in a while and Sasuke returned to his usual 'hns'. Sakura had downed a few martini's and a glass of wine, but she was far from drunk. She and Sasuke had walked home, and just as he was going to kiss her against the door as usual, Sakura's stomach wrenched.

She hastly ran in and fled to the bathroom and was promptly sick into the toilet. Sasuke pressed a cool hand to her forehead, his other fingers pulling her hair away from her face. Sakura gagged, spitting and flushed the toilet, leaning against the sink counter. Sasuke kneeled in front of her, his hand still on her forehead, looking worried. She smiled, waving a hand at him.

"Ne, Sasuke, I'm okay. Ah, I had a bit too much to drink, and that cherry in my martini did look a little unripened. She closed her eyes at his cool touch, and he helped her stand up, standing behind her as she brushed her teeth. He put them under the covers, and pulled her to his chest, stroking her hair.

* * *

The next day, they had been each working on papers in the office, when Sakura's stomach rumbled loudly. She ignored, Sasuke's chuckle, and realized she had a sudden urge to go and get ramen. She dragged Sasuke out to Ichiraku's for lunch, where they each had a bowl of ramen, remembering the Team 7 days. After that they had gone home, and Sakura, after stuffing down a bowl and a some ricecakes at Ichiraku's felt slightly nauseous from the overindulgence. But after sitting on the back porch with Sasuke in the air, she felt instantly better.

His arm snaked around her shoulders and pressed his lips to her hair. She smiled, slowly falling asleep.

Even at work, that night, Sakura could not stop yawning. She periodically downed cups of coffee, but still found herself feeling sluggish. After she took a shower the next day, she felt a twinge of cramps hit her stomach and back. She grimaced. Gah, not that time of the month again. Well, that explained the hungriness, cramps and sluggishness.

While in the bathroom, she wrapped a towel around her hair and dropped her towel, looking at her body from the side. She made a face, and realized that this menstrual bloating left her stomach and thighs a bit fatter. She huffed. She heard a 'hn' from behind her and blushed as Sasuke walked into the bathroom, and stood at the other mirror, taking out his shaving cream and blade. She blushed and pulled her towel back around her, ignoring her husband's obvious lustful gaze.

She rubbed her back once more, throwing her head back, before blushing deeply.

"D'you know, ah, Ino told me once that orgasms were the best way to cure cramps."

Sasuke set his shaving cream bottle down on the counter, forgotten.

"Hn. Let's find out."


	14. XIV

**A/N: **_BRB I NEED TO GO CRAWL INTO A CORNER AND CRY FOREVER. You'll see when you get there BUT I legit cried writing this chapter, especially at the middle and end. Well you'll know. But the yolo tho._

* * *

Two weeks til Neji and Tenten's wedding, the Konaha academy had let out for summer, leaving Sakura flooded in a sea of injured children with any and every wound from a scrap to a broken arm. And on top of that, Tsunade had been getting a lot of leads on her attempt to catch a very dangerous S-ranked gangster, so every day, almost all of the elite Jounin, and ANBU (including Sasuke) were on missions. Many came into the hospital frequently with chakra blocks and metal poisoning (the gagster's fighting signature).

So instead of Sakura's usual, regular day or night shifts, she found herself in and out of the hospital on call for shifts that lasted anywhere between one and ten hours, based on the amount of injured patients. Even Ino was called in (since she was qualified to be a nurse), and Shizune to aid the other nurses and doctors. For that week, Sakura and Sasuke saw little of each other. When they were both home, Sakura would prepare a meal and they would enjoy the time they had before her pager rang violently, or Naruto banged on the door to the Uchiha compound, yelling at Sasuke to attend the meeting the next morning.

When Sakura was home for the night, she snuggled herself in Sasuke's warm embrace and took short naps, his arms clutching her tight. She bit her lip every time she heard her pager vibrate and she had to leave his warm arms.

They had been making a lot of progress in their marriage, as Sasuke kissed her more, spoke more and became more and more intimate, but when all hell broke loose at the hospital for Sakura and the missions flooded in for Sasuke, he returned to his usual exhausted and stressed grunts and small talk.

Sakura never asked Sasuke about his Icha Icha book, nor did she attempt to pull it out of his drawer and open it again. She just assumed that he was trying, so she left him too it, not wanting to prod.

Any thoughts or reminders Sakura placed in her head were easily forgotten between her hospital shifts, and even her written notes were quickly forgotten the moment a nurse opened her office door, urgently asking her to come and help out a patient.

Sakura also noticed that she was loosing a bit of weight from the sudden stress, but tried to eat as much as possible when she had time. On the rare occasions that she had a break she would shove a bunch of random fruits and vegetables into the blender, and douse the liquid mush in sugar, and gulp the entirety of it down.

She also hadn't realized how stressed she and Sasuke were until they ended up bickering frequently. Sasuke, she had learned from his late night mumbles, was out every day from sun up and didn't arrive home until way past sundown, just as exhausted as she. She had been trying to catch up on some laundry one night, not realizing that Sasuke was trying to get some sleep in the bedroom, and the washer had stalled and began to leak water. She had called out for Sasuke to look at the problem, and received an agitated, exhausted response. Feeling bad, she had crawled into bed that night and snuck into his arms, pressing kisses to every part of his body she could. He sighed and pressed her lips to his, as a form of apology, and then gone back to sleep.

The next morning, she was home when Sasuke was up early, about to leave for his mission, and she had asked him what time he would be back that night, in case she was home and wanted to make a light dinner for them. He had sighed deeply and answered honestly that he had no idea. Sakura had snapped at him, and grumbled nonsense about him needing to tell her more and to say more words when they spoke. She wiped back stray tears and his arms wrapped around her, pulling her to him.

"Next week will be better", he had promised, whispering into her hair, "Naruto, Kakashi and I plan to catch this bastard out in Amegakure tonight." Sakura nodded into his shirt, kissed his lips and he was gone.

* * *

Sasuke had been right.

The next week, all Jounin and ANBU patients to the hospital vanished, and the notorious gangster was caught, held on trial, and executed. And since most of the parents of the children got the week off (a custom in Konaha for summer), all injuries including genin and children ceased. Relieved, Sakura arranged a day at the spa for her and Ino, as Hinata was busy that day with Naruto and TenTen was off planning for her wedding in a week.

Sasuke was attending an ANBU meeting that day and wouldn't be back until nighttime, so Sakura took the day to herself.

"Ah.. I haven't relaxed like this in months.." Sakura closed her eyes and pulled the warm washcloth over her eyes. She and Ino were stretched out in the small sauna, both with eyes closed, mouths open in happiness.

"Kami, this feels amazing." Ino muttered and slouched down in her seat.

They had gotten manicures and massages, and finally hit the hot springs. Sakura was just about to let her eyes close to doze off for a few minutes, when Ino's voice awoke her.

"Jesu, Sakura, what the hell have you been taking to handle your stress levels? You're glowing!" Sakura cracked open an eye and laughed. She shrugged to her friend.

"All I did was sleep for two days straight and catch up on my food." Ino laughed.

"The last time I was that glowing, I was seventeen, very fat, and very pregnant." Ino grumbled. Sakura's eyes twitched at her words, but she didn't give it much thought as she slowly fell asleep.

* * *

A few days before TenTen and Neji's big day, Sakura had had a nightmare. She was relieved, however, to find that it was not about her husband killing her nor was it about dying. It was an odd one, with Madara's eyes, the Ninetails and Naruto's female form.

_Sakura shot up in bed, coughing. She wiped the beads of sweat off of her forehead, and sighed. She looked at the small, eaten apple on her bedside table, and glared at the exposed core and seeds. She remembered munching on an apple and some grapes before bed._

_She disposed of the fruit in the kitchen and cursed the old wives tale that eating before bed caused nightmares. _

_Her eating schedule was still not normal, so when her stomach grumbled, she snacked on a few crackers and headed back upstairs to get some more sleep before Sasuke returned home in the morning. _

Sakura had another day off from work, and Sasuke had no mission that day so the two spent the day in bed sleeping, talking, having sex, or just plain out lying there and enjoying the silence. Sasuke told her tales of some of his most exhausting missions from the stressful period, and Sakura told him about her fruit and vegetable smoothie mush. Sasuke smirked and they had kissed once more.

Sakura was tempted to mention the book, but once more didn't, seeing how she and Sasuke were slowly returning to their intimate time together. As Sasuke lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, Sakura perched herself on one elbow and let her eyes run over her husband.

"I love you." She had said simply. He looked at her and put his hand to her cheek.

"I know."

She knew he cared for her, he had admitted to it in their big fight a month back, and she hoped there was some possibility of him someday loving her too. Until then, she continued to say those three words on a periodic basis, letting him know by the tone of her voice that she didn't intend on making him say it back.

The last two days before their friends' wedding was spent together. With Sakura's short work shifts and Sasuke's lack of missions, they cleaned up the house once more, and planted more flowers in the gardens. Sakura looked towards her Azaleas, happy that they were beginning to form small bushes in the earth. They also managed to clean out the tool shed, discard of the dead bushes and mend the wooden fence surrounding the Uchiha gardens. It wasn't until Sakura was finished cleaning out the fountain in the middle of the garden, that the heat wave of the hot day hit her, and she began to feel dizzy.

She headed in, placed a cloth across her eyes and sat in the bathroom near the toilet, waiting for the sickening feeling to pass as she pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the shower.

That night, when Sakura was feeling better, and had eaten, Sasuke took her out to a movie preview, and the two had returned home, sweaty from the humid, summer air. Sakura had jumped into the shower, letting the cold water hit her skin, when the door had opened, and Sasuke was behind her, pressing her front first against the clouded glass, his hands gripping her hands, holding them above her head against the wall.

Sakura had later analyzed her recent, heightened libido, and decided that she liked shower sex. And she also commemorated Sasuke, knowing it had probably come from that X rated book he kept hidden in his drawer.

* * *

The day before the wedding, Sasuke had awoken next to her in bed, and was silent for half of the morning. Sakura had tried to get him to speak, but to no avail. All he did was 'hn'. She sighed and left him to his thoughts to continue her medical research. She was sat at her desk in the office immersed in a large pile of open medical books, papers and files when Sasuke had appeared in the doorway of the office, looking sullen.

Sakura slowly moved her papers away from her and stood up, and walked over to her husband. Even if he was a head taller than her, she gently pulled his head down to her chest, and she felt her shirt dampening. She held him there, letting him do whatever he needed to do, her lips on his head. She stroked his hair, and lead him to the living room, where she sat down and leaned him back to her chest. She wrapped her arms around him, and remained silent.

He would open up when he felt he needed to, she knew.

Alas, after fifteen minutes of silence, and Sakura's fingers stroking his hair, Sasuke opened his mouth.

"Today is the anniversary of my parent's death."

He went silent again, and Sakura now knew why he hadn't wanted to attend the wedding, which was tomorrow. She said nothing, but continued to stroke his hair, and his arms slowly pulled themselves around her, his head buried in the crevice between her breasts.

After another ten minutes of silence, Sakura bit her lip, but willed herself to speak.

"Your mother was an amazing woman, I only met her once, but I know I she was." She spoke softly, and her shirt was damp again where Sasuke's face was buried. She kissed his head.

* * *

_Five year old Sasuke ran through the crowds of parents and children outside the Konaha academy, his eyes intent on the box that his mother was holding from her position a few feet away. He skidded to a stop in front of her and held his arms up, trying to reach the box, his small face forming a scowl. _

_Uchiha Mikoto laughed at her son's intent and raised the box higher out of his reach, planting a kiss on his head. Sasuke blushed and continued to reach for the box, beginning to jump up and down now. His stomach growled loudly and he blushed harder. _

_"Mooom, I'm hungry!" He finally got a hold on the box and Mikoto giggled, handing her son his box of lunch. He quickly slid it open and began munching on a riceball. _

_"Well well, you're welcome, Sasuke." He frowned, his cheeks stuffed with food. He swallowed and nodded. _

_"Thanks, mom." She beamed at him and placed a long kiss to his forehead. Sasuke blushed, hearing giggles and whispers from around him. He frowned._

_"I'm a big boy now, don't do that!" He scolded his mother, wiping his head feverishly. She laughed again and ruffled his hair. She stood back up and brushed off her dress._

_"Now be good, an enjoy your lunch. Play with some of the other boys, ne? Itachi will pick you up at 2." Sasuke frowned, continuing to munch on his lunch._

_"I don't want to play with the other boys, I want to spar with Itachi!" Mikoto laughed once more._

_"Someday you will. Ah!" Her eyes caught sight of baby pink and she turned smiling and kneeled down in front of the young girl. She tilted her head and placed her hands on her knees, ignoring Sasuke's frown._

_"Hello, what's your name?" The girl blushed and looked away from Sasuke and turned to Mikoto, her arms behind her back nervously. Her emerald eyes shon happily._

_"H-Haruno Sakura." Mikoto smiled. _

_"I'm Uchiha Mikoto, Sasuke's mother." Sakura nodded and blushed, hearing her own stomach growl. Mikoto put an arm around her son and turned Sasuke towards Sakura, who blushed and looked down as Sasuke stuffed his face. _

_"Where is your lunch, honey?" Sasuke frowned again at his mother's kindness towards Sakura, sort of jealous. Sakura looked down again. _

_"I-I forgot it at home today and my mom is at work right now.." Mikoto nudged Sasuke to stand in front of her, between her and Sakura. Sakura let out a small yelp, stepped back, and blushed harder. _

_"Sasuke, dear, give Sakura one of your onigiri's, I packed you a few extra." Sasuke scowled, and swallowed. _

_"No, I'm hungry." Mikoto put her hand to her son's head and tried again. Sasuke stubbornly sighed, and took a onigiri out of his box and handed it to Sakura. _

_"Here." She took it sheepishly and blushed a deeper shade of red. _

_"T-Thank you, Sasuke-kun! And you, Uchiha-san!" She bowed deeply, and Sasuke frowned, finishing his lunch as Sakura ran away from the two, still red. Mikoto smiled and placed a final kiss to her son's head, letting him finish his lunch. _

_"I like her." She murmured, and Sasuke huffed, shoving another onigiri in his little mouth. _

* * *

Sakura felt Sasuke's tears increase on her shirt. She pulled his head up, his teary eyes meeting her own. She smiled, feeling the water run down her cheeks and kissed Sasuke's eyelids, her fingers wiping away his tears.

He continued to clutch onto her, even as Sakura wiped her own tears away, and closed her eyes. She felt him lean his forehead against hers, and the two shared the silence. She felt Sasuke's cool breath fan out on her face.

"How about you and I go get some roses from Ino's?" She stroked his back as he took his time to respond. He nodded.

* * *

They bought a dozen red roses and lilies from Ino's and ignored her stares and open mouth at Sasuke's sad look. This time, as Sasuke's left arm gripped the flowers tightly, Sakura moved her hand down to his open one and intertwined their fingers.

He didn't object as they walked to the graveyard together, hand in hand.

As they neared the two, matching headstones, Sakura pulled her hand from Sasuke's and stood back, letting him have his moment. He collapsed to his knees between the two gravestones, laying the flowers at the foot of them. After a while of silence, Sakura reached forward and stroked his back, standing next to him.

"I wish you could have known her, mom." He whispered, and Sakura closed her eyes, choking back a sob. She let the tears fall freely down her face, even when Sasuke turned towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist, his head buried in her stomach. Only then did he let out a small, audible sob into the material of her dress. She wrapped her arms around his head, covering him from the world and bent her head and cried too.

What a sight they must have been.

Sakura slowly pulled Sasuke's arms from around her, and she kneeling in the grass beside him, her forehead resting on his. He closed his tear-stained eyes, and Sakura reached out to hug him. he buried his head in her neck, his arms around her once more.

"Don't give up on me." He whispered, and clutched her harder. A small smile came to her lips and she rested her cheek on the top of his head.

"Never."

* * *

They walked home slowly, and Sasuke's hand found his way into Sakura's their fingers intertwined. They were now both clear of tears, but had slowly pulled out of their sullen cloud. They remained silent, and Sakura led her husband into the house. She pulled her hand from his gently, kissed his cheek and went into the bath room to run a hot bath. It had been a long day, and relaxing sounded good right now. Kami, how her ankles had swollen from all the work.

As she was about to undo her dress, and pull her hair up to so it didn't get wet, Sasuke appeared behind her. His hands buried them in her hair as he pulled it off her head, and secured it in a twist with Tsunade's hair clip. He then slowly unzipped her dress, helped her out of the rest of her clothes, and gently placed her in the bathtub. As he was going to silently leave the room so she could have her privacy, Sakura bit her lip, blushing.

"Wait." He turned to her, his eyes searching her face.

"Join me." Within seconds, he was stripping himself of his shirt and pants and stepping into the large tub to seat himself next to her. She shifted their position, until she was sat behind him, her legs drawn up, and Sasuke was sat between them, in front of her. His arms rested on her knees, and he let his head fall back to her chest. She kissed his forehead, and wrapped her arms around him.

They had lain there for thirty minutes, when the phone rang. Sasuke frowned, squeezing Sakura's knees.

"Leave it." He whispered huskily, but Sakura wriggled out of the tub, ignoring her husband's scowl. She wrapped herself in her bathrobe and went to answer it.

"It could be important." She heard Sasuke's grumbling, and giggled. He was back to his usual self, which was good. Oh the powers of incense, hot water and relaxation. Sakura answered the phone.

"This better be important-" Ino cut her off.

"SAKURA. ONE HOUR. MEET AT HARU'S BAR. WEAR HEELS. OKAY? BYE." Before Ino could hang up, Sakura cut her off.

"What the hell are you talking about, Ino-pig? I was just enjoying a nice bath with my sexy hus-"

"FOREHEAD. ITS TENTEN'S LAST NIGHT AS A SINGLE, UNMARRIED WOMAN NOW ARE YOU GONNA SUPPORT HER AND COME HAVE FUN OR ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE SEX WITH YOUR HUSBAND MAKE UP YOUR MIND WOMAN."

"Well actually, Ino, I _would_ like to have sex with my h-"

"TOO BAD. HARU'S. ONE HOUR. NOW BYE." Sakura sighed, hearing the dial tone and hung up.

"What was that about?" She turned towards Sasuke, who was clad in a towel. She blushed and bit her lip.

"Ah, Ino wants me to go to Tenten's Hen Party in an hour." Sasuke smirked, and walked past her to head into the kitchen. As he did, his lips met her ear, his hand moving to her behind.

"Don't have too much fun." He whispered huskily, before heading into the kitchen, and she heard the coffee maker turn on. She blushed and ran into the bedroom to get ready.

* * *

Sakura was gone thirty minutes, when the phone rang once more. Sasuke sighed loudly and set down his second up of coffee, moving to answer it. He adjusted his towel.

"Hn?"

"Oh, er- hey, Sasuke, it's Shikamaru." Sasuke frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What is it?"

"Well.. er.. Ino's gone out, and Naruto just told me that he was planning on getting Neji and stripper and a-"

"I'm not going." Sasuke said gruffly. To his surprise, Shikamaru chuckled.

"That's what I told Naruto you would say, so we didn't ask you. Anyways, what I was saying, was Ino's out, and I gotta go to this stupid bachelor's party, so I was wondering if Sakura could babysit Shin. I would ask my parents, or Ino's, but Ino's are on vacation, and my parents are busy. Chouji's coming to the party, along with the other guys, Hinata is on a mission, and Tenten is no where to be found. Is Sakura there?"

Sasuke sighed. "She's out with Ino." He said matter of factly. He heard Shikamaru smack his head, and he smirked.

"God dammit, I should have known that. Probably a hen party then, right? Good thing Hinata wasn't going, she'd probably pass out at the first sight of a male strippers ass-"

"They hired a stripper?" Sasuke asked murderously. He heard Shikamaru laugh nervously.

"Calm down, it's probably for Tenten. Our wives won't be getting any action from a man whore tonight."

"Hn."

"Anyways, uh.. awkward question. Could you maybe.. come and babysit Shin for like an hour or two? Just til I can pull away from the party, or Sakura or Ino gets home."

"No." He deadpanned. But then frowned. He sighed, and his face formed a scowl.

"Fine." Shikamaru let out a large sigh of relief.

"Thanks, man I owe you one." Sasuke hung up, and went to get changed.

* * *

He arrived at Shikamaru's door ten minutes later, hands buried in his pockets, and a scowl on his face. He banged on the door, and Shikamaru let him in, rubbing his neck.

"Ah, thanks again, man. Alright so, he should be alseep by now, but sometimes he wakes up, and yeah. Diaper stuff is in the bathroom to the right in the hall, his bottle is in the fridge, foods in the cupboard, yeah. Thanks again." He slipped out the door, shutting it behind him. Sasuke frowned, listening to the silence.

Tch, this would be easy. All he had to do was sit here for an hour or two, and-

"Who are you?" Sasuke jumped and turned to face the sound of the small voice. The toddler stood in the doorway, rubbing his eyes, his hands clutching a small teddybear. He yawned.

"Uchiha Sasuke. A friend of your parents." Sasuke answered quickly, and then sighed. He walked over and picked up the small boy, aiming to put him back in his bed, when Shin whined, struggling.

"No, I dun wanna go back to bed. I'm not tired." Sasuke's eye twitched, and he sighed again.

"Well I am, Shin, so-"

"No!"

Sasuke held up the small boy by his under arms, watching as he pouted, a frown on his small features, his arms crossed tightly. He continued to clutch his teddy bear as he glared at the older man, his mother's eyes shining.

Sasuke sighed again.

"Fine."

He set the boy gently on the couch and turned towards the kitchen, aiming to see if Shikamaru had any tomatoes, when Shin's happy voice cut through the air.

"Sasuke-sama, I want ice cream!" He kicked his little legs out and jumped up and down happily, the teddy bear flying in the air. Sasuke's eye twitched again.

"No."

His eyes widened when Shin began to wail, his head thrown back, mouth opened. Sasuke swiftly moved over towards the now three year old boy and kneeled in front of him. His eyes softened, and he placed a hand on his head. Shin slowly calmed down.

"Fine." He sighed, and his lip twitched when Shin suddenly started laughing and his arms moved happily.

"Yay! I want the wed won, with vanilla!" Sasuke picked the boy up, putting him on his hip and headed into the kitchen. He set Shin down in his high chair, and rummaged through the cupboards, pulling out a small bowl and a spoon. He bent down and found a tub of vanilla icecream in the back of the freezer. He scooped out a small amount into the bowl and put it down in front of Shin, handing him the baby spoon. Just as he was about to stand back up, Shin's arms wrapped themselves around his neck. His breath hitched, and Shin pulled away again.

"Thank you, Sasuke-sama!" Sasuke smirked gently and ruffled his hair. He put the ice cream back in the freezer and continued searching for any red fruits. He finally found Ino's bunch of fresh produce in the fridge and swiped the biggest one, taking a bite out of it. He sat at the kitchen table, his eyes closed in happiness, and then he realized Shin had gone quiet. He looked up and saw the toddler yawn, putting down his spoon in his half eaten ice cream. Sasuke felt a ghost of a smile touch his lips. He gently picked up the child and grabbed his teddy, heading towards Shin's room.

He tucked the boy in, resisting the strong urge to kiss his head. Just as he was about to leave the room, Shin's light voice cut through the quiet air.

"Goodnight, daddy."

Tears formed in Sasuke's eyes. He wiped them away quickly, and headed back to the kitchen. He put the dirty dish in the sink and collapsed on Shikamaru's couch, closing his eyes. He rummaged around in the cushions and found the tv remote. He turned on the box, and watched the news. An hour later, Shikamaru still wasn't back and no one had called. However, there was a small voice coming once more from the hallway.

"Sasuke-sama?" He turned and saw Shin stood there, once more, clutching his teddy bear. He yawned bigger.

"I can't sleep. Can I come cuddle?" Sasuke was about to object and put the boy back into bed, when he sighed, extending his arm.

"Fine." He said once more. Shin giggled happily, and ran over to the couch, Sasuke helping him up onto it. Shin curled up by his side, his head laying on his chest.

"When did you get so smart anyways, kid?" He commented, thinking about how clear Shin formed words, and could clearly think, especially for ice cream. Shin giggled, and then yawned.

"Mommy says its because daddy is very smart." He then fell asleep, his head on Sasuke's chest, small arms holding his bear. Sasuke leaned his head back once more, turned off the television, and closed his own eyes. His arm covered Shin, instinctively.

* * *

Sakura rubbed her back and yawned. She and Ino were just leaving the bar, and Sakura stopped to rub her swollen ankles.

"Kami, I hate heels." She grumbled and took them off, yawning again. Ino laughed, and the two walked slowly away from the bar. On their way, Sakura ran head on into Chouji's large stomach, and almost fell over. She jumped up.

"Gomen, Chouji, I didn't see you there-" Ino screamed, staring at Chouji's partner in the darkness.

"NARA SHIKAMARU WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT- OH MY GOD WHERE'S SHIN?" She started to freak out, when Shikamaru wrapped his arms around her and calmed her down. He smirked.

"Neji's bachelor party." He said smugly, then shot an accusing look at his wife, who looked away guiltily. "And because you didn't tell me about TenTen's Hen party, and our parents weren't available, I called Sakura's", he gestured to the pinkette, who raised an eyebrow, "and asked her to babysit, but when I found out she was out with you, I had no other choice than to ask Sasuke to do it."

Sakura let out a small laugh. "Sasuke agreed?" Shikamaru shrugged and then nodded.

"He's babysitting Shin right now." Sakura bit her lip, unable to picture Sasuke taking care of a child with a scowl on his face.

"I'm sorry, honey." Ino kissed her husband, and they made up. Sakura apologized for not being available, but Shikamaru waved a hand at her. The four of them slowly walked towards Ino's and Shikamaru's house, bidding Chouji bye at his, and then Ino stepped forward to open the door. Sakura pushed her way in, feeling guilty that her husband had to babysit.

"Sasuke, I'm so sorry, if I had known I would have come immed..." She drifted off as her eyes caught the sight in front of her. Tears instantly came to her eyes, and her lips parted. She held her hands to her mouth, hoping she hadn't woken her husband. Her heart melted.

Sasuke was stretched out on Shikamaru's couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table, head thrown back in sleep. Shin was cuddled up on Sasuke's chest, his thumb in his mouth, teddy bear in hand, and Sasuke's arms were wrapped around the toddler protectively.

"Oh Kami.." Sakura murmured. Shikamaru and Ino exchanged a look. He stepped forward, ready to wake Sasuke, when Ino pulled him back, shaking her head. This was Sakura's moment. Tears came to Ino's eyes, and Sakura's. Sakura slowly approached the couch, not wanting to ruin the precious moment, but knew she had to. She stroked her husbands hair, and bent down to kiss his lips. He stirred, and made a small yawning noise behind closed lips. One of his arms stretched out from Shin's back to rub his eyes.

"Hn?"

"Let's put Shin to bed and get home, ne?" She asked her husband gently. He looked down at the toddler on his chest as Sakura slowly, and gently picked up Shin, and then helped Sasuke up from the couch. She led him into Shin's room where she placed the boy into his bed and pulled the covers to his shoulders. She stroked his hair, arranged his bear back in his arms, and stood up turning to meet her husbands gaze from where he was watching her in the hallway. She wrapped her arm around his waist and gently led him out of the house, quietly bidding Shikamaru and Ino goodnight as she did.

It wasn't until they were halfway home, that Sasuke broke the silence.

"I want to be a father so badly." He whispered. His words brought tears to Sakura's eyes, and she bit back a sob.

"You will be," she said, her voice stronger than she felt, "I promise."


	15. XV

**A/N: **_I would just like to thank all of those warmly who follow this story as well as those who have favorited it, I am glad you shared your thoughts and opinions with me on this story. I just want to say how freaking agitating and hard it is to write such a change in character in Sasuke, Kami, it was a bitch. But i guess I made it through successfully. Not many chapters left, stick around!_

_Anyways, this chapter, more than any other, may be rated M, but it's a surprise soo.. *winks*  
_

Enjoy!

* * *

The day of the wedding, Sasuke had woken up on his side, arms wrapped around his wife protectively. Seeing that she was asleep, and breathing softly, he rolled her over onto her back, his arms meaning to pull away from her so he could get out of bed, but he stopped when she stirred, her lips parting in a small o.

"Mmn.. Sasuke?" She yawned and stretched. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Well good morning to you t-mmnff!" Before she could finish her sentence Sasuke slowly wrapped his arms around her, his weight on top of her. He pressed his face into the crook of her neck and sighed loudly. She giggled and hugged him back, her lips finding his head in a small kiss.

"What time is it?" She stretched her arms over her head again, ignoring Sasuke's wandering hands. She blushed as they strayed at the curve of her breasts before moving down to her hips.

"6:30." She smiled.

"Ah, good. We've got til 11 to get ready for-mmmmmnff!" He pressed his lips to hers, biting her lower lip, pulling it into his mouth. She let out a soft moan. Kami, ever since she and Sasuke had began to kiss more often, he seemed to become addicted to pressing their lips together heatedly. She blushed and her hands moved down his chest, cupping his muscled rib cage. Then, he surprised her even more, and she made a small sound against his lips, when she felt his hands stray to her inner thighs. She felt the familiar heat in the pit of her stomach and hooked her leg up around him, pressing against him hungrily.

He hissed in a breath and gripped the back of her knee, pulling her closer, his hand skitting away from her thigh to cup her breast. She threw her head back against the pillows.

"S-Sasuke..."

But as soon as she said that, he was gone from the bed, and was sat on the edge, acting as if nothing had happened. She blushed deeply, as he turned to her and shot her the dirtiest smirk she had ever seen in her life.

"There will be more time for that later." She swallowed. Did he just quote her from the morning of his birthday?

"I-" He stood up and headed into the bathroom. She heard the shower start and she huffed, closing her legs, trying to control her hormones. Kami, why was her libido running wild these days? Right now, she just wanted to go in there, pin Sasuke to the wall of the shower and-

She didn't finish her sentence, and instead got up, dressing herself and went to start breakfast. She made them a hearty plate of eggs and some toast, and before Sasuke could even finish his first plate of eggs, Sakura was on her second. He raised an eyebrow at her and smirked.

"Hungry?" Sakura blushed, feeling a bit ashamed. She shrugged.

"I was craving some eggs and yes, I am hungry." He chuckled, and continued eating. After she finished, she left Sasuke to the dishes and headed to go shower. She put on a button up shirt and shorts, knowing that she was going to get her hair and makeup done before dressing at Tenten's house.

She put on a small load of laundry, made the bed and stood looking at the clock. It was only 8 am. She huffed, trying to think of something to do for three hours. But slowly, as her mind began to wander, she wished she hadn't.

_She could go to Sasuke, pull him up from his seat and shove him into the counter and-_

She shook her head and gripped her hair. "God dammit, Sakura, stop being so horny!" She whispered fiercely, hoping Sasuke wasn't in earshot to have heard it. But, the small 'hn' that came from the hallway told her everything. She let out a squeal and ran past him, hiding outside in the garden. She inhaled the sweet scent of the fresh air, and reached to get a cup of water to keep the Azaleas alive and blooming. She walked around the edge of the spacious yard, her hands behind her back. She went back inside after a while and found Sasuke in the living room reading a scroll.

She headed back into the kitchen and decided to clean up the table, which was a mess of Sakura's notes, pens, and papers. She fixed it up and then turned to the calendar, crossing off today's date, but as she did, her eyes caught sight of something, or rather, the _lack_ of something. She frowned as she pulled down last months calendar and stared at the two x's. She nodded to herself, counted the days and put todays month back up.

That was weird, she was late-

"Everything okay?" Sakura jumped and turned to her husband, thoughts gone from her head. She opened her mouth and closed it again.

"Er.. yes!" She nodded and closed her mouth again. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, before shrugging, and returning to the couch in the living room. Sakura bit her lip and sat down at the table, letting her head softly hit the wooden structure. She let out a groan. Two hours until her friends wedding and all she could think about was all the ways to ravish her husband in all sorts of different positions and locations. She blushed.

Instead, she willed herself to remember the earlier days of her marriage, when Sasuke had been more withdrawn. She had been happy at the contact he gave her as their little 'ritual', but she never found herself thinking about him like that, at least never intense enough that it consumed her thoughts. She bit her lip.

Perhaps her hormones were out of whack this month.

She listened to the loud, ticking of the clock. She almost popped a vein with nothing to do except have dirty fantasies about her husband.

In the end, she decided to work on her research for the three hours, to keep her mind off of her exploratory ways. Two hours in, she hardly noticed when Sasuke entered the office and seated himself at his own desk. Fifteen minutes into his own scroll writing, he had called out her name gently three times, and Sakura, so immersed in her medical book, hadn't heard him. He sighed, and got up, standing behind her. His hands cupped her shoulders, and he said her name once more, and she jumped, letting out a squeal.

"Chaa!" She dropped the book on the floor, swinging her chair around to face Sasuke, her eyes shining with anger.

_Couldn't he see that she was trying to wo-_

She bit her lip, her anger suddenly disappearing. Sasuke stood in front of her, hands on his hips, his eyebrow raised. But Sakura wasn't focused on his face. No, not when his shirt was gone. He smirked. Her hands traveled down his naked collarbones, sculpted chest, and well defined abs, her fingers itching to touch them. Her eyes continued down to his hips (_Kami, his jeans were riding far to low for her liking)_ and she was then eye level with his crotch. She blushed and swung back around from him, ignoring his continuously widening smirk. His hands found themselves to her shoulders once more, fingers slipping inside her button up shirt.

"It's almost time for you to head to TenTen's." He whispered in her ear, his teeth holding the skin in place. She shivered and closed her eyes.

He pulled his hands away, and lips (_very sadly) _and resumed his place at his desk, continuing his writing. Sakura shook her head and stood up, stretching. She tried to push away her blush, but failed miserably.

"I-I'll go get ready."

Kami, Sasuke was being a tease today.

* * *

When Sakura arrived at Tenten's house, she was bombarded with three pairs of arms, and loud squealing. Ino, Hinata, and TenTen's mother released Sakura simultaneously, all speaking to her happily.

"Oh, Sakura, you should see TenTen's robe, it's amazing!" Hinata was smiling, her hands pressed together in front of her.

"Kami, Sak, wait til you see the hairstyle Ten picked out for us! It's absa-freaking-amazing!" Ino was happily nudging her friend.

"I haven't seen you in so long, Sakura! How is married life? Your husband? Oh I bet you had an amazing wedding!" TenTen's mother chatted happily, wrapping her arm around Sakura, pulling her into the house. Hinata and Ino followed them in, chatting among themselves about the feat of hair and makeup to come. Sakura told TenTen's mother all about her life with Sasuke, and concluded with their current goal of conceiving a child, with a small blush on her face.

"Oh my! As a mother, I must say you're still so young!" TenTen's mother commented, but Sakura smiled, nodding.

"I know it sounds naive, but Sasuke and I are ready to be parents. Ever since I was little I had always loved caring for others, and when I was a child, I always wanted a little sister that I could care for and nurture. I guess, as I grew up, and began working in the hospital, caring for others, and especially children, I was sure of myself that I wanted to be a mother. And Sasuke.. well he's had a very tough life, he grew up without the nurturing of a motherly figure, nor a father, and he really wants to rebuild his family again. He.. he has a lot of love in his heart.. love he knows that would go to his son or daughter."

Tears brimmed in her eyes, and her hand went to her flat stomach (which had grown a bit round ever since her eating schedule was back on track, Sakura noticed.) Ino and Hinata were silent from behind her, and TenTen's mother sniffed, swiping quickly at her eyes.

"You'll be a lovely mother." Is all she said, and ushered the girls into the dining room, where TenTen screamed, hugging Sakura.

"Ready to get all dolled up for my big day?"

Sakura looked at the storm of beauty products and accessories scattered all over the table, and all of the curlers and rollers. She grinned, saying hello to the two stylists standing in the corner, looking slightly scared.

"Hell yes, Mrs. Hyuuga."

TenTen grinned.

* * *

Whilst TenTen's house was filled with giggling and loud girlish voices, all filled with conversations of gossip, the large Hyuuga compound was filled with a different atmosphere. Sasuke arrived there on time, surprised to see that he and Kiba were the only ones who had arrived yet. They had a mini staredown whilst Neji was a fit of nervous grunts and gulps. Finally, Lee, Shikamaru and Naruto arrived, all with common, but unalike reasons for being late.

Then there was silence.

It wasn't until Neji was pinning a small lily to his robe, when Naruto finally spoke up.

"So teme.. Shikamaru.. care to give Neji some helpful tips about the good ol' wedding night?" Said two man blushed, and looked away from each other, small scowls on their faces. Kiba let out a large laugh, crossing his arms.

"Tch, Sasuke probably just tapped that and ran with his tail between his legs-"

"Asshole."

"Sorry, what was that, Uchiha?"

"Nothing, mutt."

"Enough." Neji looked towards his too friends and sighed. Truthfully, ever since Sasuke's reunification with Konaha, some of those in his age group were hesitant to trust him, excluding Naruto. However, even with their hesitations, they still welcomed him back, as a Leaf village brother. Kiba was one of the guys who was okay with Sasuke now, and only made jokes towards him to show Sasuke that he was a friend, but said joke obviously hit Sasuke.

Naruto rubbed his neck.

"Guys, we're all friends here. Lets all agree to get along, have fun today, and tonight, get some of that nice ass-"

"If you touch my cousin tonight, Uzumaki, I will personally cut off all of the blood flow to your small dic-"

"GUYS!" Kiba pulled Neji and Naruto back as the two were up in each others faces, glaring. Lee pushed into the small circle of guys, his fists raised in anticipation.

"I agree with Naruto, lets go get some ass!"

"Hn." Even Sasuke was blushing.

* * *

By twelve-thirty, Konaha's wedding gardens were already crowded with people. Most of the guests included family members of the bride and groom and all of the Jounin and sensei's of Konaha. Even Tsunade and Shizune decided to make an appearance. TenTen had decorated the outdoor pavilion and aisles with white lilies and blue ribbons, trying to make it as un-girly as possible. The guests took their seats, and TenTen's mother disappeared into the swarm of people.

Since TenTen and her father were to be secluded from the others as she walked down the aisle, Ino decided it was her job to take over the positions and timing, even though Hinata was the lady in waiting. She raised her fist and shuffled the grooms party and bridesmaids together, bustling them in order, her voice heard from across Konaha no doubt.

"Cha, Lee I said Stand BEHIND NEJI NOT NEXT TO HIM!"

"KIBA STOP FLIRTING WITH TENTEN'S COUSIN! JESU,_ SHE'S ONLY SIXTEEN_!"

"NARUTO YOUR HAND GOES ON YOUR STOMACH NOT _HINATA'S AS_S KAMI YOU PERVERT!"

"SASUKE STOP SCOWLING! SAKURA SORT OUT YOUR HUSBAND!"

After the large amounts of sweat drops, everyone was finally in order, standing behind all of the guests and ceremony space. At Ino's count, Neji made his way slowly down the aisle to take his position next to the minister. He placed his hands at his side shakily. Next to walk was Lee, his hand gently gripping TenTen's eight year old cousin's hand, who was the ring bearer. He stood at Neji's left and patted his friend's back supportively. Kiba led TenTen's young, blushing cousin down the aisle next (as she was the flower girl). Then Hinata and Naruto followed, both flowing with large smiles. Sakura bit her lip, ready to begin walking, when Sasuke's hand closed over her arm at the crook of his elbow.

"You look beautiful." He murmured, his lips close to her ear. She blushed, ignoring Ino's glare from behind her. He had never complimented her so softly before. The closest she had ever come to such was when he had called her sexy. She blushed deeper, put on a smile, and clutched her flowers in one hand and her husband's elbow in the other tighter.

They walked down the aisle, and parted just in front of Neji, taking their seats on either side of the aisle respectively. Finally, Ino and Shikamaru followed pursuit and sat down. Then, everyone turned to watch TenTen and her father enter. When she sauntered down the aisle, hand on her fathers elbow, looking very beautiful, Neji's eyes filled with tears. Sakura could have sworn she heard Naruto snicker. But when she saw Sasuke drive his elbow into Naruto's side, shutting him up, she smiled and continued to watch TenTen.

The ceremony ended shortly, and TenTen ushered everyone into the dining hall, her hand clutched tightly in her new husband's hand. Sakura gently led Sasuke into the room and found their seats at the groom and brides party table. During the beginning of the reception, Sakura placed her arm on her husband's shoulder and leaned towards him, speaking with Ino, who was seated to Sasuke's right. His arm quietly wrapped around her waist, his other hand reaching to his wine.

Lee's best man speech left everyone sniffling (except Sasuke, of course), and his comments of "Flaming youth" and the "young passion that is love" was only matched by Mighty Guy's loud sobbing at the back of the room. Kakashi handed his friend a tissue, letting out a sigh. Hinata made a small, heartfelt speech too, blushing the entire time, and after that, the dancing started, thanks to Naruto's enthusiastic yelling.

Sakura smiled and crossed her legs. This time, she didn't want to dance as much, her ankles were still swollen from her constant working, and the heat of the fall day left her feeling a tad dizzy and nauseous. During TenTen and Neji's slow dance, she excused herself to go to the bathroom, ignoring her husband's worried glances. She barely made it into the ladies room before her stomach lurched and she fled into the closest stall, heaving.

She calmed herself down, and washed out her mouth with some water, feeling instantly better. She pressed a hand to her clammy head.

"Che, it's too damn hot out."

She made it back to the table as the new married couples' dance ended and another slow dance began, inviting everyone else up to dance. Sakura smiled as she watched all of her friends stand up, as well as Kiba with the flower girl and Lee and Might Guy paired up. She giggled, watching the two alike men attempt a slow dance, before Sasuke's hand appeared in her cloud of vision. He placed his other hand on her waist.

"Come and dance." He murmured, and helped her stand up. He led her towards the dance floor, trying to stay as far away from Naruto and Hinata as possible, ignoring Naruto's crude looks and perverted gestures at Sasuke. His arm snaked around her, his other hand lifting hers up. He pulled her towards him, and her head fell onto his shoulder. As the song progressed, both of his arms were around her, and her hands wove themselves around his neck. She closed her eyes.

"This tops our wedding dance." She murmured, and blushed, burying her head deeper into his clean smelling robe. Sasuke chuckled and clutched her tighter.

"Good." He said and pressed his lips to the top of her head, and his own eyes closed.

* * *

By the end of the long night, Sakura was tired, but very happy. Sasuke had slow danced with her to all of the songs they had played, as well as led her around as she talked to friends, colleagues and adults (she still considered herself a child to them). At the end, they were one of the first to receive TenTen and Neji's wrds of gratitude. She hugged them tightly and Neji and Sasuke shook hands, before they left. Sakura stretched as she and Sasuke walked down the quiet route to get home.

"That was lovely, thank you for attending with me, Sasuke." She murmured and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He gripped her waist tighter.

"You're welcome."

They had walked a few mote feet, when Sasuke stopped and was quiet. Sakura turned to him, her hands finding his cheeks.

"Sasuke? Are you alright?" He raised his head to meet hers, his voice gentle and sincere.

"We never had a wedding night." He murmured and Sakura took in a breath. She smiled and exhaled.

"It's alright, I had a lovely time, and you gave me a second, amazing, wedding dance-"

"Let me give you one." She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. She giggled.

"You want to give me another dance? Ne, Sasuke my feet ache a little to much for-"

"No." He cut her off gently, his hands on her waist.

"Let me give you a wedding night." He clarified, a small blush forming on his cheeks. Sakura blushed back, not knowing what to say. Before she could even get out a single word, Sasuke picked her up bridal style and was already kissing her, his lips gentle against her still unmoving (shocked) ones. He walked quickly towards the Uchiha compound, and didn't set Sakura down. He closed the door behind them and headed for the bedroom, setting Sakura down at the closed door. Sakura's hands shook and she found she was nervous as her nineteen year old self had been on her wedding night.

"I-I-"

Sasuke shushed her and gently led her into the bedroom and sat her down on the edge of the bed. She continued to stare at him as he stood in front of her, blushing, and looking slightly nervous. He swallowed. She was going to speak again, when Sasuke bent down and took off her shoes, and then his own. He placed them down and then stood back up. His voice was shaking.

"L-Let me-" He didn't finish his statement, but stood between her legs and leaned down. His lips found hers instinctively, and his hands cupped the sides of her face gently. She kissed back eagerly, her hands moving to wrap around his neck, as usual, but his hands stopped her. He replaced her palms back on the bed, shaking his head. He pulled away from her lips.

"No." He said gently, and Sakura held her hands where they were. He leaned down and kissed her once more, and Sakura instantly knew he was taking it slow. Having been used to the rough side of Sasuke, especially during sex, she wasn't used to this type of slow gentleness. Her fingers itched to pull her husband's clothes off and then her own, but she restrained herself, wanting to savor this moment.

He continued to kiss her lips gently, as he undid her outer robe ties. He pulled her robes aside, but did not slip her out of them just yet. His lips moved from her eager, parted ones, and replaced themselves on her forehead. Then, he slowly planted little kisses over every part of her face, including her eyelids and ears. His hand reached up to her pulled back hair and gently pulled the clip out, letting the pink curls cascade down her back.

Sakura shivered. This was a side of Sasuke that she had never seen before. He was so.. gentle. His lips moved to the side of her face and then her chin, his tongue snaking out to lick the sweet smelling skin, before retracting it. His fingers found the edges of her outer robe and he slipped it over her bareshoulders, letting it fall around her wrists. He got on his knees, and leaned his head into her neck, thanking that he was a head taller than her. He pressed his lips airily to her skin, hearing her let out a small breath. Sakura leaned her head back under his touch, her eyes shutting.

He pressed more kisses to her neck and the underside of her chin, his fingers cupping the back of her neck, guiding her head back for better access. She mewled.

"S-Sasuke-" She breathed out, but he gently shushed her once more, the air hitting her neck. Her hands clenched themselves around her fallen robes. He continued his kisses down her neck and reached her collarbones, kissing the skin, taking his time to lick and nip at the area. Sakura parted her lips, completely lost in his ministrations. His lips made their way to her shoulders and he kissed the two twice each, three times, and then four. He pulled his lips back up to hers, and used one hand to cup the back of her head. She kissed him back eagerly, her teeth pulling at his lower lip.

His fingers ghostly trailed down her neck and shoulders, before reaching the top of her under dress. His lips pulled away from hers (ignoring Sakura's pouts and noises of disapproval) and pressed more kisses into her neck, his hands on her waist to stand her up before him. She stood up on shaky legs and his lips pulled away from her. She watched as his fingers found the zip of her dress and slowly pulled it down. He watched with heavy lidded eyes as the silky material slipped off of her curvy figure, his lips parted in breath. He stood back up and pressed his lips back to hers, his hands on her bra clasp. He undid the material too, slipping it off of her arms, and threw it behind him.

Sakura kept her hands at her sides, ignoring the total desire to just fling herself onto her husband and let her head lull back once more, eyes closing. Sasuke sat her back down on the bed and was once on his knees, his lips moving down to the crevice between her breasts. In the back of his mind, he tried to ignore the fact that they appeared bigger. He pressed his lips to her skin and traveled down to her left breast, his lips covering the cool skin. Sakura let out a moan.

His hands stroked the other soft mound, the pads of his thumbs moving across her nipple slowly, gently. Sakura bit her lip. He switched his hands and lips and then his palms found her shoulder blades. He pushed her towards his lips, his tongue snaking out to nip her breast.

He let her small breaths echo from her chest as his hands slipped slowly down her back to her hips. Much to Sakura's dislike, his lips pulled away from her breast and continued to her ribs, and then her stomach. He nipped at the skin above her bellybutton, taking in the small roundness of her belly. His fingers found hers and he intertwined them, his lips skirting back up to her shoulders. He kissed down her arm to her wrist lightly and then her hands. He kissed the pads of her fingers, before repeating the same with her other hand. Sakura melted under his kisses.

His lips then traveled back down her chest and stomach to kiss her abdomen, licking the skin. She bit her lip as he nicked at the skin on her hips, his hands pulling out of hers to cup her hipbones. She arched her body up towards his kisses, head lulling back once more. His proceeded down to her pelvis, and before he went any further (Sakura frowned at this, wanting the attention as she felt the heat between her legs intensify), his hand gripped her ankle and lifted her leg to his face.

He kissed her swollen ankles and then up her leg, stopping at her knees. His fingers stroked the undersides of her thighs, and then he pulled away. He leaned up to her, his lips finding hers and pulled her tongue into his mouth. He finally allowed her to kiss back hungrily, lips and tongues melting together. Her fingers twitched as she felt his fingers play with the skin above the material of her panties. He slowly and painfully (for Sakura at least, he was going to slow, she wanted him now!) slid the material down her legs and behind him. His lips pulled away from hers once more and placed themselves at her knee.

He dragged his lips slowly up her thigh, stopping midway and did the same to her other leg. Sakura's breath hitched into a small moan as his lips got dangerously closed to her nether regions.

_Oh, Kami.._

He stood up and placed his hands under her chin, willing her to look at him. He kissed her lips once more before pulling away, his hands now on his own robe. He untied the wrap and let it fall off of him, leaving him in a pair of dark pants. He stepped between Sakura's naked legs and pulled her hands to the waistband of his pants. He bent down and pressed his lips feverishly to hers, his hands cupping her cheeks as she just as hungrily yanked his pants down his legs.

He placed his hand on the small of her back and gently laid her back on the bed. His hands clutched her knees gently, and Sakura lowered her head to look down at him, a small blush on her lips. She watched as his own hooded gaze caught hers, his hands parting her legs. He bent down between her thighs and moved his hands up to her thighs. She let out a low moan.

Suddenly, his head was between her legs, tongue snaking out to meet her clitoris. Sakura let out a small mewl. He proceeded his licking and nipping, leaving Sakura in bliss, her head back against the soft bed. Finally she moved her hands out towards him and buried her fingers in his hair, gripping his head closer to her. He lifted her legs and wrapped them around his neck, replacing his hands on her hips to push her upwards, his lips against her center.

Sakura, not used to such attention, felt already like melted putty, her skin molding against Sasuke's lips and head. She lifted her index finger to her parted lips and bit down on the skin, holding back a loud moan. She almost lost it when she heard Sasuke's chuckle from between her legs, the vibrations traveling up her spine. Her back arched, muscles in her thighs tightening around Sasuke's head. Her fingers gripped his hair tighter, pressing him to her as her hips bucked against his happy tongue. Sasuke's hands ran up her thighs and gripped her ass, pressing her harder against his lips, and Sakura hit her high. She shook, letting out a long moan, her back arching and then collapsing. She let out heavy breaths, as Sasuke gently pulled away from her, licking his lips.

Her hands remained in his hair as she opened her eyes, trying to calm herself down from her high, looking at him. His gaze softened, and his fingers stroked her face.

"I- I love yo-" He placed his fingers to her lips and she kissed the skin hungrily. He slowly moved to cover her with his weight, gently placing a knee between her legs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and his lips buried themselves into her neck, pressing gentle kisses over the skin. One hand placed itself on her back and the other moved back between her legs. She moaned. His fingers pressed against her back, and he pulled her up into his lap, continuing to kiss her neck, this time gently. She tilted her head back, lips parted, and closed her eyes. Her hands wove themselves back into his hair, hips bucking against his needy fingers.

"Say my name." He whispered into her collarbone, sucking on the skin.

"Sasuke.." She moaned, her head falling back further. He pressed his hips against hers, and she repeated his name, biting down on her lip. Slowly, his hand pulled away from between her legs and he cupped her hip gently, his other fingers playing with her cheekbone. She pulled her head back to look at him through half closed eyelids. In all of the times they had been so intimate, Sakura could never place a name to the emotion in Sasuke's eyes that coupled with lust. But now, she was sure what it was. Love.

He pressed his lips to hers tenderly, before pulling back, resting his forehead on hers. She stared into his eyes.

"Sasuke.." He nudged his nose to hers, hands stroking her hips.

"Make love to me."

His eyes softened at her words. He gently laid her back down on the bed and pressed his lips back to hers, tongue pressing against her heated one. His lips never left hers as he gently entered her, and her fingers gripped his hair compassionately. He moved them at a slow pace, and his fingers stroked her skin, pulling her thigh around his waist. He continued to kiss her lips, before pulling away to press his lips to her neck, catching his breath. His movements increased in speed, and he pulled his head back up from her neck, and leaned his head to hers, both of their lips opened in large pants.

She stared into his eyes, and one of her hands cupped his cheek, caressing the hot skin. His gaze caught hers, and her other thigh hooked around his waist. His lips covered her own once more, tenderly kissing her. Then his hands pulled away from her hot skin and took her hands form his hair. He placed her arms on the bed and intertwined their fingers. Sakura's eyes never closed.

As they reached their peaks, Sakura felt a new sensation. Her toes began to curl, her hands shaking. When she finally climaxed, Sasuke's lips were buried in her neck, his own panting breath hot against her skin. She called out his name loudly and lovingly, and she felt him begin to shake, his movements slowing down.

"Say it again." He whispered hoarsely, pressing her loser to him, her back arching.

"Sasuke.." She moaned once more, and he cupped her ass, drawing her back and hips up to meet his.

"Use the suffix." He said gently, pleading. She bit her lip.

"Sasuke-kun..." He lost it.

"Sakura..." He moaned, and pulled his head up, his gaze on hers as he climaxed, collapsing his head to her shoulder. As they calmed down, Sasuke slowly rolled them over, laying Sakura on his chest. His hands cupped her head, still panting and kissed her head. She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his fast beating heart.

"I love you." Came a strong whisper, from a confident voice. Sakura almost choked. She lifted her head from Sasuke's chest, her eyes wide, lips parted. He stared back at her, his eyes tender.

"I love you, Haruno Sakura." He repeated and she was crying. She let the tears fall down her cheeks and onto his chest, and he gently wiped them away, kissing under her eyes. She laughed lightly and happily.

"I love you too, Sasuke."

He gently rolled her off of him and onto her side, her back to him. He gently curved his body around hers, her back to his chest and wrapped her in his arms She covered his hands with hers on her stomach and intertwined their fingers.

_So that's what he was reading Icha Icha for_, she thought in the back of her mind, blushing. Her eyes closed, and she let her happy smile come back. Even Sasuke had a ghost of a smile on his lips as he closed his eyes, kissed his wife's head and slowly fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N:** _Alas, my friends that was the last lemon *tears up a bit* but anyways. Yeah I know I'm teasing you all with this whole "baby" thang. You'll just have to wait until the next chapter, sadly! Ah, will update soon. Like tonight. Or tomorrow. Kisses!_


	16. XVI

_The night air was cool against his neck and cheeks. His hands found their way into his pockets, and Sasuke huffed out a breath lightly. His arms and head ached from the string of wires Ibiki had hooked him up to during his tests. Every night for the past two weeks, Uchiha Sasuke was to report to interrogation, where he was to sit in the same chair for seven hours straight, while Ibiki asked him a string of questions about his personal life and information. Needless to say, it was quite tiring and definitely an annoyance. _

_"What is your age?" Ibiki was perched in a very comfy looking chair (as opposed to Sasuke's uncomfortable, wooden stool), his hands perched over his books as he read Sasuke's psychological results. Sasuke bit back the desire to rip these ridiculous wires from his wrists and head. _

_"Seventeen." He replied. Ibiki's face was the quintessence of stone, no emotion present on his features, while Sasuke's eyes were narrowed in irritation, the side of his lip twitching. _

_"Any allergies?" _

_Asking such random questions were a part of Ibiki's techniques to make sure Sasuke's mindset was functioning without abnormalities. So Sasuke just had to sit there and merely respond to the ridiculous inquiries. Mostly, the earlier ones had been about his family and his actions to defy Konaha. But today it seemed, Ibiki was taking a different approach. _

_"No." Came Sasuke's irritated reply. Ibiki nodded and continued to scrawl his notes on his scroll. _

_"Birth defects?" Sasuke's upper lip twitched._

_"No."_

_"Abnormalities?"_

_"No."_

_"Health conditions? High blood pressure, heart arrhythmia, diabetes?"_

_"No."_

_There was a period of silence, as Ibiki recorded Sasuke's vitals and fixed the wires. He stretched his arms back behind him and ignored Sasuke's glare. Obviously the kid wanted to go home for the night. Ibiki smirked to himself. It wasn't over yet, he had a few more personal questions._

_"Are you sexually active?" Sasuke popped a vein. He shot a death glare at his interrogator, and refused to answer the question. Ibiki sighed and rubbed his temples. _

_"Just answer the damn question, kid." Sasuke's eye twitched._

_"No." Ibiki nodded. _

_"Are you a virgin?" Sasuke let a small blush cover his cheeks. He looked away and glared at the wall. Ibiki fought the urge to laugh._

_"Y-yes."_

_"So you shouldn't have any signs of sexually transmitted diseases, am I correct?" _

_"Yes." _

_There was another string of silences and pauses, before Ibiki spoke once more, and this time Sasuke was beginning to feel uncomfortable. He frowned._

_"Got a girlfriend?"_

_"What kind of a question is that?" Sasuke spat, a deep scowl on his face. Ibiki shrugged. _

_"A normal one for a kid your age. So, answer it." Sasuke frowned deeper._

_"No."_

_"Love interest?"_

_"No."_

_"It is my understanding that you plan to revive your clan, is that correct?" Sasuke blushed. _

_"Hn."_

_"Yes or no, kid."_

_"Y-yes."_

_"Alright we're done for the night. But you might wanna consider your position with clan revival and no love interests, kid." Sasuke scowled. _

_Tch, he wasn't about to listen to some old, pompus man. He clenched his fists in his pockets as he walked down the streets. In a few hours the sun would be up. He planned to head right to bed, and sleep through til the late afternoon to rid himself of the awkward questions. Of course, Sasuke knew he would have to find himself a wife in order to bring his clan back. He blushed and put his head down as he walked. Honestly, he didn't see anyone in Konaha in such a way. Most of the kunoichi were annoying fangirls. He closed his eyes irritably. _

_Ino was with Shikamaru. She had grown out of her fangirling nature over Sasuke, and either way, she was gone. Hinata was quiet, which he would have liked in a wife, but she blushed too much. He huffed. Tenten..no. He sighed heavily. Then his mind fazed towards his Team. Sakura! How had he forgotten about her. He smirked. At first, she was as annoying as the other fangirls, but as he found that she had a strong side, he of course cared for her in a teammate way. Of course, they had a history, which would make things easier. And he had to admit it; Sakura had grown up. She was stronger than Tsunade, ad had proven herself to be a very independent woman. A small blush formed on his cheeks. _

_That night Sasuke decided. When he was free from all of the interrogations and damned interviews, he would court Sakura in the routine manner and ask her to be his wife. It was a plan._

* * *

Sasuke's eyes opened slowly, taking in the blurry sight of the Uchiha compound's master bedroom. He frowned, his back involuntarily arching in a stretch. He stretched his fingers, and found them pressed against soft, warm skin. He opened his eyes wider and saw a cloud of pink in his vision. A small smirk came to his lips.

He was still front to back with Sakura, who was still happily asleep, his arm curved around her waist, her hands placed in front of her face. She exhaled gently at Sasuke's moving fingers, and he stopped, not wanting to wake up his sleeping wife. He looked over Sakura at the alarm clock and frowned. He tightened his arm around his wife, and laid his head back on the pillow, his lips finding her mass of pink hair. He kissed her head and closed his eyes once more.

An hour later, Sakura's eyes snapped open. Her hand moved down to her stomach, as she felt her muscles tighten and relax painfully. She let out a breath and tried to calm down, her fingers massaging her stomach, but it didn't help the sharp pain. From behind her, she heard Sasuke stir, his nose nuzzling closer into her hair. She closed her eyes and attempted to control the pain in her stomach, snuggling her back against Sasuke's chest. She heard him breathe in slowly, and knew he was awake.

"Hn. Good morning, _Mrs. Uchiha._" He murmured into her hair and Sakura bit her lip. Gah, if she wasn't in pain right now, she would have rolled over in his arms and kissed him. She continued to rub her stomach with her hand, and Sasuke slowly came to, noticing her movements. His eyes narrowed, hands stroking Sakura's hair.

"Is everything alright?" He asked worriedly, his other hand moving to cup Sakura's on her stomach. She grimaced at another shooting pain and exhaled. Sasuke's hand stroked her hair once more, and she could feel his worried eyes on her neck. He sat up slightly, his arms still around her and looked at her face, which was still turned away from him.

"Sakura?" Just as his arms tightened around her, Sakura's stomach lurched. She stumbled out of his embrace, one hand clutching her stomach, the other slapped over her mouth. She ran to the toilet and threw up, coughing violently. She spat out the bile and grimaced, closing her eyes. She heard Sasuke shoot out of bed, hurrying into the bathroom behind her. He pulled her hair away from her face and stroked her back. Sakura gagged once more, trying to ignore the vile taste of acid in her mouth. She spat once more and leaned her head into her husband's shoulder, closing her eyes. His arms wrapped around her, stroking her arms and back.

When the nausea finally passed, Sakura stood up on shaking legs, flushed the toilet and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her lips drooped sadly at the sight of her bed hair, dark eyes and pale complexion. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. Sasuke stood behind her, his hands on her hips protectively.

"Are you okay?" He asked once more, this time very worried. Sakura swallowed the bitter taste and grimaced.

"I suppose I ate something bad." She brushed her teeth, ignoring her husband's worried embrace and eyes, and then stepped into the shower. Sasuke left her alone and headed into the bedroom, standing in front of the bed, his eyes blank. Something was wrong with Sakura, he knew it, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe it was just food poisoning? They had eaten the same dinner yesterday at the wedding, so it wasn't that, and Sakura always made food for the both of them. And Sasuke wasn't sick. He frowned. Perhaps he should ask Ino-

His thoughts were cut off when he felt a pair of newly cleaned arms wrap around his waist from behind. He cupped her fists and Sakura giggled.

"Ne, Sasuke, I feel better now. I guess it's a touch of the flu, or perhaps food poisoning. I have to go in to work today, so I'll get myself checked out." He turned in her arms and lifted her up to his eyes. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and she blushed, trying to ignore that he was naked and she was only wearing a towel. He held her waist protectively, his eyes filled with worry.

"Are you sure? Maybe you should just relax-" Sakura shook her head.

"It's alright, I feel okay. I'll go in, do a check up on myself, and if I start feeling bad again, I'll hurry straight home, okay?" Sasuke frowned.

"If you don't feel good, call me and I'll come pick you up-" She kissed his lips, her arms wrapping around his neck. Before he could deepen the kiss, she pulled away and pressed her forehead to his gently. She looked into his eyes.

"I'll be okay, Sasuke." She kissed his lips once more, and he set her on her feet so she could get ready for work. He turned away from her, ready to head into the bathroom to take a shower too, when her hand on his arm stopped him. He turned back around to her, questioningly, and took in the deep blush on her cheeks. She didn't meet his eyes, but licked her lips.

"W-When you made love to me last night..I-" she took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, "I saw fireworks." A ghost of a smile came to Sasuke's lips and he pulled her towards him, his lips on her forehead. He stroked her back gently.

"I saw a goddess." He whispered into her damp hair and disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door. Sakura smiled.

* * *

After the two of them were dressed, they sat in the kitchen eating a small plate of fruit. Sakura was scarfing down the grapes, ignoring Sasuke's smirk and low chuckles. He bit into a piece of apple and nudged his knee to his wife's under the table. Sakura stopped chewing on her bunch of grapes and looked at him. He smirked wider.

"Calm down." He said gently and took another bite. Sakura rolled her eyes, pouted, and reached for a banana.

Needlesss to say, Sasuke was _not _at all turned on when Sakura took a large bite out of the elongated fruit. In fact, he was a bit nervous.

Sakura cleaned up the bowls, and was washing the dishes, when Sasuke spoke once more.

"I'm going to see the Hokage today about the Uchiha's resuming their command of the Konaha Police force." Sakura jumped.

Ever since the Uchiha massacre fourteen years ago (_Kami, so long!)_, the fourth Hokage had ended the Uchiha's command of the agency, as Sasuke wasn't adequate to become commander, and made the Police Force part of the ANBU and Konaha's domestic division. Tsunade, as fifth Hokage resumed this law and the police force was ran from the branches of the ANBU. Sakura smiled. However, now that Sasuke was old enough to take over the business and run it, she agreed he should. But, he would still have to recruit the ANBU as officers.

"That sounds great, Sasuke! I hope you can get it back. But what about your status as ANBU?" Sasuke shrugged, crossing his arms.

"I was planning to ask Tsunade to put me on the same list as you, so that I'm still technically an ANBU by status, but just not on regular call outs." Sakura smiled.

"Let's hope Tsunade-sama will be okay letting her best ANBU captain go." Sasuke chuckled and stood up, wrapping his arms around his wife's waist.

"I think Commander Uchiha sounds sexy." Sakura whispered, and Sasuke laughed into her hair.

* * *

When she finally got a break at the hospital before lunch, Sakura collapsed at her desk, rubbing her ankles. In her mind, she was going over the large number of possibilities to diagnose her recent symptoms. It ranged from the common flu, all the way to cancer. Sakura swallowed. Of course, she was sure it wasn't as extreme as that end of the spectrum, but she supposed she should do a little blood work. She read off her results and found her levels normal. She frowned.

She pressed her finger to her chin, tapping it, and decided to name her symptoms out loud to see if anything would click.

"Lets see.. well nausea and vomiting is one.. I was dizzy that one day.. enlarged breasts, Kami, .. hungriness, cramping..." She stood up in thought, and grabbed one of her medical books, and a smaller pamphlet fell out of it's bookmarked page. Sakura stared at it, her eyes widening. The page it had lost in her textbook was forgotten, and Sakura replaced the book on the shelf thoughtlessly. She bent down and picked up the pamphlet with shaking fingers, her lips opening and closing.

_Signs That You're Expecting! _It read on the cover, and a generic woman was smiling into the camera, her hands clutching her massive stomach. The hospital had had a seminar on pregnancy less than a year back, and Sakura, a newly wedded wife blushingly picked up the pamphlet, knowing she would need it one day. Of course, as a doctor and medic, Sakura knew the symptoms of being pregnant, and had aided numerous women giving birth and with ultrasounds, but now, all said information left her mind. She swallowed and read the small list of symptoms.

Instantly, she checked off three fourths of the ones listed as her own.

"C-Could I really be..." She faded off and continued to stare at the small piece of paper. She moved to her desk and collapsed in the chair, her eyes staring blankly at the wall by the bookshelf, the pamphlet hanging limply from her fingers. She exhaled.

* * *

On her lunch break, she had nibbled down a sandwich and excused herself to run to the nearest convenience store. She quickly purchased a bar of chocolate (she was desperately craving something sweet), some aspirin, and a small, pink box. She quickly paid for her items and headed back to the hospital, locking herself in the staff bathroom by her office. She opened the small box and slipped the paper and instructions out, her heart beating rapidly.

"After all these months of wanting a child so bad, and now I'm nervous.." She murmured, and read out the instructions. She looked at her watch.

* * *

Five minutes turned into a very painfully slow amount of time for Sakura. She sat on the closed toilet, her hands bunched up between her legs. Every second, she checked her watch and then cursed to herself. She took a quick glance at the stick perched on the side of the sink and looked away just as quickly, biting her lip.

What if it was true? How would Sasuke react?

Sakura shook her head. He would be ecstatic of course! She breathed out a heavy sigh. She didn't know why she was so nervous, but she was. Her fingers twitched as she looked at her watch once more.

_Two more minutes._

She began tapping her foot. She could hear eager voices from outside in the hall and figured it was the nurses out for their break. She continued tapping her foot. She checked her watch again.

_One minute and thirty seconds left._

Her eye twitched. She began listing off all of the different restaurants and movies Sasuke had taken her to. When she ran out, she started naming teas. She checked her watch again and swallowed. Time was up. She stood up slowly and made her way over to the dreaded stick on the sink. Her hand reached out to grasp it, her eyes on the ground. She brought it to her eyes and swallowed, taking in the small results bar.

Sakura swallowed back a sob.

* * *

Five slow minutes was nothing compared to two slow hours til the end of Sakura's shift. She bit her lip and hid out in her office, thanking that the hospital was quiet, and free from emergencies. She tried calling the home phone but Sasuke didn't answer. She assumed that he had a lot to talk about with Tsunade about the Police Force. She bit her lip harder, drawing blood.

Finally, the two hours was up, and Sakura quickly signed out of the hospital, holding herself back from flat out running home. On her way past Ino's flower shop, she saw Shizune out on an errand by the fruit stand. Sakura ran over to her, and clutched her knees, trying to control her breathing. Shizune jumped and turned worriedly to Sakura.

"Ah! Sakura-san! Is everything alright-"

"Was Sasuke at Tsunade's today?" Sakura asked hastily, gulping in breaths of fresh air. Shizune nodded slowly, questioningly.

"Ah, yes, Uchiha-san was in there since this morning about Konaha's Police force-"

"Is he still there now?" Shizune shook her head.

"He was leaving her office as I was leaving to run some errands. In fact, I think I saw him walk past me just a few minutes ago-"

"Thanks Shizune!" Sakura kissed the woman's cheek and ran in the indicated direction. Shizune called out a small 'you're welcome?' and resumed shopping. Sakura rushed down the street, her eyes scanning the crowds for the infamous hairstyle of her tall husband. She was a few hundred feet from Ichiraku's when she saw his head. He was heading past the ramen stand and the bar where she had gotten drunk a month back. She stopped, breathing heavily and cupped her mouth, beginning to call.

"Sasuke!"

She had planned to catch him at home to surprise him with the news, but she was so giddy that she decided that the moment she saw him, saw his handsome face, that it would come out of her mouth anyways. She called his name once more, and he jumped, and stopped in his tracks. He turned in her direction, and Sakura rushed over, stopping in front of him, catching her breath. Sasuke looked around and then to his wife, his eyes worried.

"Sakura? What is it-" She stood up straight and bit her lip. How should she go about this?

"Sasuke, I-" He took a step towards her, ignoring the small crowd of people who slowed down to stare at the two. No one dared to whisper, but they cast small glances at the young couple. Sakura opened her mouth and closed it again, deciding whether or not doing this in public would be right.

"I'm-" She tried again, but Sasuke cut her off, his hands on her arms, fingers clutching the material of her shirt protectively.

"Sakura-" Sakura took a breath.

"SasukeI'mpregnant." She said hastily and Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hn?" She bit her lip, took another breath and slowed down.

"I-I'm pregnant, Sasuke." She stared up into his eyes, but they had gone blank. She blushed as his hands dropped from her arms and hung limply at his sides. His head dropped to his chest, eyes hidden by his bangs. She bit her lip nervously and opened her mouth once more to ask him if he was okay, or to maybe apologize for making a scene in the middle of the street. At her confession, all talk around them was hushed, and she felt happy eyes on her. She could have sworn someone sniffed too.

"S-Sasu-" She was cut off by the small drops of water dropping at his feet from his eyes. Her own eyes widened.

Lo and behold, Uchiha Sasuke was slowly letting little tears fall down his cheeks. He was ignorant of the staring, quiet passerby's now, his only focus now on his pregnant (_pregnant!)_ wife. He dropped to his knees with a thud, and Sakura opened her mouth, letting a small breath escape her lips. She looked down at him, as he slowly raised his ever so shaking hands to gently cover her slightly rounded stomach.

"_Thank Kami." _He choked out, his forehead resting above his fingers. Sakura's arms wound around his head and covered his teary face from the people's eyes in the streets, her own eyes forming tears. She smiled.

"You're going to be a father, Sasuke." She whispered, and he choked out a small noise. His arms wound around her midsection, and he pressed his face to her stomach.

* * *

_Eighteen year old Uchiha Sasuke was perched in a squatting position on top of the Hokage tower. He stared at the faces carved into the stone wall, his fingers playing absentmindedly with a small piece of silver in his hand. It was midnight, and surprisingly, the Hokage tower was silent, dark. Everyone had gone home for the evening earlier, so Sasuke made his way onto the roof to catch up on his thoughts. _

_Yesterday, he had taken Sakura out on a date to see an adventure movie. He had been his usual self, quiet and introverted, and had been Sakura's silent companion as she expressed a wholly of emotions over the actions of the movie. After the movie, he had walked her home, as usual, and was stood behind her as she opened her door to let herself in. His hands were in his pockets as usual, his eyes aimed at the door above her head. But, after a few seconds, when her door did not creak open as usual, he blinked and looked at her._

_Sakura had hesitated, and turned to him, quickly pressing her lips to his. Sasuke's eyes widened as he went into shock. But as soon as he felt the warm, soft pair of lips on his own unmoving ones, they were gone. Sakura big him goodnight, embarrassed, and closed the door behind her. Sasuke blinked slowly, and parted his lips. The tops of his ears heated up and he quickly fled from her apartment complex, heading home. _

_That was the first time that he had completely decided when and where he would ask her to marry him. _

_In the back of his mind, he was yelling to himself, and he knew he had gotten in too deep. Sakura wasn't _supposed _to touch him! Was she? He swallowed. He cared for her, of course, maybe a bit more than as team mates, and as friends, but he wasn't ready to open up so much. He headed into the complex and went to the storage room hidden in the back of the weaponry room. He kept it locked and hidden behind a tapestry. It contained all of his parents and Itachi's things he had cleaned out from their rooms. _

_He rummaged around in a small wooden box, slowly pulling out a small, silver ring. He swallowed heavily and put it in his pocket. _

_Now, he looked at the small ruby and diamond ring, holding it between his two fingers in the moonlight. It had been his mothers' engagement ring, a gift from his father. He had never bothered to get to know what Sakura liked in the form of jewelry, and he was physically unable to take her jewelry shopping as it could cause her to be suspicious, so he decided that he absolutely wanted her to have his mothers' ring. _

_He replaced the small ring into his pocket and leaned back against the cold roof tiles. Uchiha Sakura, he mused, a small smirk on his lips. _

_It could work._

* * *

_Like the empires of the world unite  
We are alive  
And the stars make love to the universe  
You're my wildfire every single night  
We are alive_

* * *

**A/N:** _Technically, this is the end of the chaptered story, HOWEVER, I plan to add small tidbits of later events for the now happy Uchihas! So keep following the story, and I should update them soon~ Hope you enjoyed!_


	17. XVII: moments

**A/N:** _Sorry about the wait, been busy with college moving and whatnot. Buut I'm back so yay bring on the fanfix. Also, I decided in this chapter to adjust the personality of Sakura's father, Kizashi Haruno. I realize that in the manga, he would not act so, but I've always been a sucker for fanfics where he is overprotective of his daughter and would willingly use violence to beat up any guy that hurt Sakura, and plus, I just wanted to make Sasuke seriously afraid of someone :p_

_ALSO the second to last moment in this small collection is taken from a scene from the movie "The Back Up Plan" which I obviously don't own, but I loved the scene soo much with preggo Jenn Lopez and her desire to wear a pencil dress and heels to dinner. It was just so cute :3 Anyways. Enjoy!_

* * *

• moments •

* * *

_moment one: the ydi party_

* * *

"I'm so happy for you, Sakura! Gah, you're going to be a wonderful mother!" Sakura smiled, and thanked her cousin over the phone. She smiled to herself. It seemed like just yesterday that she found out she was expecting, and had told Sasuke. But in reality, it had been over a week. After she had told Sasuke, and they had gone home, he had showered her in kisses, wiped away his tears, and booked them dinner in one of the fanciest restaurants in Konaha. Sakura told him about her search for the mystery diagnosis, and how she discovered that she was pregnant.

Afterwards, Sasuke told her about his meeting with the Hokage in relation to the Konaha Police Force. Tsunade read over his health and psychological tests, analyzed his job as ANBU captain, and granted the command of the Police Force back to the Uchiha clan. Sasuke kept the title of ANBU captain, but was on the list with Sakura for call outs. The day after he found out Sakura was pregnant, he went down to the old office and opened it. He confided in his wife that he planned to get it cleaned up and out with the new ANBU 'officers'.

While Sakura spent her week taking shifts at the hospital, and spreading around the good news, Sasuke gave himself a regular schedule, mission free, to clean up the police office.

They were sat down eating dinner, when there was a large banging on the compound door. Sasuke frowned and placed his hand on his wife's arm when she stood up to answer it. He stood up and went for the door, almost wishing he hadn't. As he slowly creaked open the door, he saw a flash of yellow and then a bag was thrown over his eyes, and he fought back against the attacker, kneeing him in the crotch. There was a very girlish scream.

"DAMMIT TEME, DATTEBAYO! THAT HURT!" Sasuke growled, pulling the bag off of his head and stood up. He kicked Naruto once more, and the blond cried out.

"What the _fuck, _dobe?" Naruto whimpered.

"What was that? Sasuke?" Sakura rushed towards the door, saw it was Naruto and smiled, putting a hand on Sasuke's arm, ignoring Sasuke's death glare and Naruto's clouded eyes from tears and the fact that he was still clutching his groin. Naruto waved meekly at Sakura.

"H-Hi, Sakura-chan.."

"Naruto? What's going on?" Sakura frowned worriedly. Sasuke growled, and Naruto shot him a small smile.

"Ah..when you told me that you were pregnant, I told all of the guys the good news, and ah.. we decided to throw Sasuke a YDI party.." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Sasuke frowned deeper and Sakura raised an eyebrow at the blond, hands finding her curvy hips.

"A _what?_" Sasuke seethed, and Naruto laughed awkwardly.

"A.. You Did It Party. YDI." Sakura raised her eyebrow higher.

"I don't get it."

"It's like.. ah Sakura-chan, it's a party to celebrate the fact that Sasuke can actually get a girl pregnant." Sakura was already in hysterics. She clutched her small, rounded stomach and exhaled, letting out a train of giggles that slowly turned into hearty laughs. Her other hand clutched her husband's arm. Sasuke didn't look amused, in fact he looked miles from it. He was glaring at Naruto, hissing in breaths. He folded his arms, ignoring his laughing wife. When she slowly calmed herself down, Sasuke dared to speak.

"No." He frowned. Sakura bit her lip, trying not to laugh again.

"Oh go, Sasuke. You need to get out more with your guy friends." She smacked a kiss to his cheek, and he blushed, still frowning. Even Naruto was starting to grin, nodding quickly.

"Come on, teme, lets celebrate the _fruit of your loins!_"

Sasuke delivered a swift kick to his best friend's crotch, and resumed crossing his arms. He closed his eyes irritably. Naruto let out a squeak and fell to his knees, his hands clutching the pained area.

"Don't ever use that phrase again." Sasuke pointed out in a stoic manner. Sakura put a hand to her husbands arm once more, and his own arm shot out to encircle her waist.

"Oh, go on, Sasuke. Go have fun! I'll be okay here!" She kissed his cheek once more and Sasuke sighed loudly, his eyes falling shut once more.

"Fine." He spat, ignoring Naruto slowly stand back up again, sweating. With a shaking arm and fingers, he held out the bag that had earlier thrown over Sasuke's head towards him.

"T-teme? Can I at least finish kidnapping you-"

"No." Naruto pouted like a little child. Sakura smiled and patted his head. She leaned in towards Naruto's ear, her hand squeezing his shoulder.

"He likes blindfolds better." She whispered huskily, loud enough for Sasuke to hear. He turned deep red, and Naruto's face turned into a cheshire like grin. He shot Sasuke a dirty look, who snapped his head to the side, avoiding Naruto's gaze.

"Hn."

"Come on, teme! We're gonna be late!" He reached out, grabbed Sasuke's arm and yanked him out of the house. Sakura pulled away from the two and blew Sasuke a kiss, who looked very irritated now. She giggled and cupped her mouth.

"Have fun, honey!" She called and headed back inside, hearing Sasuke's loud cursing and Naruto's girlish screams. She laughed.

"Naruto." Sasuke sounded deadly now. Naruto laughed.

"Eh?"

"Why in the fuck are you dressed up as a _burglar_?"

"Ah teme, you see, it was all part of the kidnap Sasuke plan.."

"Dobe."

"But the ski-mask was a nice touch, right?"

"Next time, actually put it on, dumbass."

And so Sasuke arrived at Naruto's small apartment (refusing to be blindfolded), took one look at the hand crafted banner (_Congrats on the semen, teme!)_ and felt homicidal. He ripped a bottle of sake from Kiba's hands and gulped it down. He also ignored the fact that the gang of men had wrestled Chouji into a diaper and bonnet, and shoved him towards Sasuke.

Oh the joys of having guy friends.

* * *

_moment two: the visit_

* * *

The day after Sasuke's YDI party, he spent the morning in bed, with a small hang over and a migraine. The migraine he was used to, courtesy of his younger years where overusing the Rinnegan and Mangekyo Sharingan was his addiction, however, the hang over, he wasn't. He thanked Kami when his wife appeared at the bed side, pressed a hand to his head, and took away the migraine pressure. She then shoved a foul smelling liquid in a glass at him, told him to go and sit by the toilet, and down it. He did so, and instantly felt better as he rid himself of the alcoholic toxins.

After he showered, he was sat in the living room, Sakura in his lap, relaxing. She was pressing kisses into his neck, her hands slipping from behind his back to his chest and then stomach. His muscles contracted, and he bit his lip. His head lulled back against the couch cushions, eyes shutting in bliss. Sakura's hands inched lower, and her lips found their way to kiss. He kissed back, pressing his fingers into her shoulder blades, pulling her closer in his lap. She giggled against his lips. After a few moments, happy Sasuke was gone, as Sakura pulled away from his lips. He scowled.

"I still haven't told my parents.." She murmured and pressed a hand to her slightly swollen stomach. Sasuke's hand covered hers, fingers intertwining.

"When did you see them last?" He asked, his lips pressing against her collarbone. Sakura let her head fall back, her own eyes closing at Sasuke's ministrations.

"Ah...A few months back. I baked them a lemon meringue from the lemons you got off the garden tree...mm.." Sasuke's lips traveled down to the top of her shirt, his nose between her breasts. He breathed out and gently pulled her closer to him. She sighed happily.

"Let's go visit them." He said gently into her collarbone, and Sakura's eyes opened. She pulled away from her husband, looking at him. He stared back, gently, winding his arms around her.

"Are you sure? We've never visited my parents together before.." She trailed off, willing herself not to think of the cold days of her early marriage and courting to Sasuke. It was true, she never introduced Sasuke to her parents, and the four of them had never shared a dinner or conversation. The first time Mr. Haruno ever really met Sasuke was when he visited to get his blessing to marry Sakura. Apart from that, they didn't speak.

"I want to," Sasuke clarified gently, kissing Sakura's forehead, "our child, is going to have at least one set of grandparents." His hand covered her stomach, and he kissed her tenderly on the lips. Sakura kissed back, her hands cupping Sasuke's cheeks lovingly. She pulled away from him and nuzzled her head into his neck. He stroked her belly.

"Alright." She murmured.

Just as Sakura was going to call her parents to ask if they could come over for dinner later that day, Sasuke appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, fruit bowl in hand, filled with delicious looking red apples. Sakura giggled, her hands together in a small clap.

"Oh perfect! I can bake them an apple pie! And I would like to do some toffee apples with the leftovers.." Sasuke placed the fruit bowl down next to her and leaned into her, his hand on her waist. Then he disappeared from the kitchen, and Sakura heard him upstairs, pulling open his drawers and closet. Sakura picked up the phone in the hallway, her finger tangling around the chord as she waited for someone to answer.

"Hello?" Mrs. Haruno said pleasantly. Sakura smiled.

"Hi, mom, it's Sakura."

"Hi, honey! Long time no speak! Is everything alright? How are your friends? And the wedding?"

"Actually mom, I was going to ask you if you wanted to have Sasuke and I round for dinner tonight?"

"Oh my! Sasuke? Of course! I'll prepare a pot of porridge and rice. How nice it will be to finally see your husband, Sakura!"

Sakura giggled. They arranged a time, and Sakura promised that they would be round. She hung up and began to prepare the pie. When she was kneading the pasty dough for the pie bottom, Sasuke emerged in the kitchen once more. He gave her waist a squeeze and stood next to her at the counter.

"Can I help?" He asked gently. Sakura smiled, and nudged him towards the apples and the knife. Ever since he found out she was pregnant, he was so eager to help her with things, especially small things, such as chopping apples. The protective side of soon-to-be-father Uchiha Sasuke was definitely a beautiful sight. With Sasuke's help, the apples were chopped and quickly placed in the pie crust, and covered over. Sakura slid the pie into the oven and closed the door, watching it through the window. Sasuke's arms went around her from behind, his palms protectively covering her stomach.

"I'm so glad you can cook." He sighed out into the back of her head and Sakura let out a giggle. She stroked his palms.

"When we were newly married, that was what freaked me out about you, Sakura. You could cook, you can clean, and you have so many motherly traits and instincts... I just... I saw my mother in you, truly." He whispered, and closed his eyes. Sakura smiled and turned in his arms, pressing her lips to his neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck gently.

"This compound needs a motherly touch again." She admitted, and Sasuke's arms tightened around her. He nodded.

"And," Sakura continued, smiling into her husbands chest, "this family needs a father figure." Sasuke blushed lightly and tugged her tighter once more.

"I love you." He murmured.

* * *

They arrived early to the Haruno's house, Sakura's arms clutching the pie happily in her arms. Sasuke knocked on the door and stood behind her, his hands on her arms. When the door opened, he remained silent, letting Sakura have her moment with her mother. He gently took the pie from her and held it between his hands as Sakura and her mother threw their arms around each other happily. Mrs. Haruno wiped away her tears happily. She indicated that the two come inside, and when Sakura took a step in, Mrs. Haruno looked towards Sasuke, still stood on the doorstep with the pie in his hands.

"Hello, Sasuke-san." She smiled and pulled him into a small hug. He returned it with one hand, and held out the apple pie to her.

"We brought dessert." Sakura's mother clapped happily and Sasuke couldn't help but notice the similarities between his mother-in-law and wife. He almost smiled. Sasuke stepped inside, and saw that Sakura was being embraced by a large pair of arms, and realized it was her father.

"Dad! I missed you." Sakura squeezed him, earning a gasp for breath from Papa Haruno. His wife and Sakura laughed, as Sakura pulled away, allowing her father to breathe. Sasuke placed his hands in his pockets and looked away, not really knowing what to say. Sakura escorted her mother and pie into the kitchen, chatting happily to the other woman about the dessert in her mother's arms. Then, Sasuke was alone in the living room with Sakura's father, who crossed his arms, his face emoionless. Sasuke opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but couldn't form a sentence. Sakura's father cut him off.

"The past is the past, Uchiha, but if I find out that you aren't treating my daughter right-" He started gruffly. Sasuke bowed, finally able to form sentences.

"Haruno-san, I wish to receive your forgiveness for any pain I have caused you, your wife, or your daughter. I-I have made some bad decisions in the past, which has led me to hurt those close to me, including Sakura, but I promise if you would give me another chance that I will make your daughter forever happy. I am sorry." He sucked in a breath and suddenly, he was enveloped in a warm, large grasp. His eyes widened, as Papa Haruno hugged his son-in-law.

"If you ever hurt my Sakura again, I will not hesitate to kick your rich, arrogant ass! However, I am willing to forgive you for Sakura's happiness."

"Yes, sir, thank yo-"

"No, let me finish, please. The past is the past, but I have to tell you my point of view. Ever since Sakura was thirteen, I have watched her come home from missions quietly with tears in her eyes. Before then, she would happily run in with stories of Team 7 and her darling 'Sasuke-kun'. But after that, I watched her fade in and out of the house, and stories of team 7 halted. Even when she became stronger and moved out of our house and into an apartment, I could tell she was bothered by something. I knew it was you, Sasuke. She's been through a lot with you, and all she deserves is to be treated like a queen. Give her happiness, Sasuke. I gave you my blessing for a reason, because I believe you can give her the happiness she needs."

By the time Papa Haruno had finished, he had tears streaming down Sasuke's shirt, and even Sasuke shed a few tears. His arms came around to hold the larger man, and the two stood there with arms around each other, silently.

"She is my everything, sir." Sasuke closed his eyes. Papa Haruno smiled, and pulled away from Sasuke to look at him. He slapped his back and directed him towards the dining room.

"That's my son-in-law!"

Even Sakura and her mother were silently crying from their spying in the kitchen at the two men. Sakura's heart had melted.

* * *

"So, Sasuke, how are you supporting my daughter, eh? I don't care if you come from money or squat, you better have yourself some kind of job." Sakura took a gulp of her rice porridge and bit back a smile. Sakura's mother giggled and touched her husband's arm gently. Sasuke shrugged.

"I was ANBU captain up until a few days ago, when I spoke with the Hokage, and now the Uchiha's are running the Konaha Police Force once more. I am the commander." He shrugged and continued eating. Sakura's father let out a laugh and nodded.

"That's my boy!" Sakura beamed. The four finished their dinner in happy silence, before Sakura excused herself to use the bathroom (cha! Uchiha babies sure liked to play with her bladder), while Mebuki, Sakura's mother, cleaned up the empty plates. As she was cleaning up Sasuke's plate, she looked at the doorway that Sakura had disappeared down, and smiled.

"Our daughter is glowing, don't you think, dear?" She asked her husband. Kizashi shrugged, and made eye contact with Sasuke, letting out a laugh.

"She's happy." Sasuke murmured gently.

It wasn't until the four of them finished their plates of apple pie, and retired into the living room that Sakura finally spoke up about her pregnancy. She sat down next to her husband on the couch opposite the small futon her parents were perched in. Her arm snaked around Sasuke's and intertwined their fingers. She bit her lip and looked at her parents, a small smile on her lips. Sasuke's fingers squeezed hers supportively.

"Mom? Dad? Ah, we have some good news.." Kizashi folded his arms and raised his elbow while his wife clapped her hands happily.

"Oh! Don't keep us waiting then, darling, what is it?" Sakura took a deep breath.

"We're going to have a baby." She said gently and looked at her mother. Her eyes widened and a large smile spread across her features, making Mebuki appear years younger than she was. Kizashi's jaw dropped open and he stared wide-eyed at his daughter and son-in-law.

"Oh, Sakura, that's wonderful! I knew there was a reason that you were glowing, didn't I, dear?"

"_W-WHAT?" _Kizashi roared. And then there was silence. Mebuki placed a hand on her husband's arm, but he continued to gape at the happy couple. Even Sasuke had a small smile on his face.

"I LET YOU INTO MY HOUSE, UCHIHA, I FORGIVE YOU, I _TRUST_ YOU, AND YOU IMPREGNATE MY DARLING SAKURA?!" Sasuke gulped, and clutched Sakura's hand tightly, very scared of his father-in-law now.

"S-Sir, I-" Sasuke started, but Kizashi flew out of his chair, ignoring Mebuki's arms on his elbows. She tried to restrain him, but he pulled against her grasp.

"MEBUKI, WHERE IS MY GOOD HUNTING KUNAI I NEED TO PERFORM A CASTRATION-"

Sakura screamed, and stood up in front of her husband, who was frozen on the couch, a worried expression on his face, his hands gripping his crotch protectively. Sakura held out her arms and shook her head at her father.

"Daddy, NO! I refuse to let you do anything to my husband! You forgave him, and we're married. Don't you want to be a grandfather?" Kizashi's eyes twitched at her last question. He started to tear up, and Mebuki's arms went around him comfortingly. He sobbed childishly.

"No, I'm only fifty two!" Sakura fought not to roll her eyes. She pulled her hands down as she felt Sasuke stand up behind her. His arms went around his wife, hands covering her stomach protectively.

"Forgive me, Haruno-san, but I want this baby. Sakura and I will be parents, and this child will receive all the love in the world. We're ready to be parents, sir, and .. and I love your daughter so much and my future child that I will stand up to you to protect them." Sakura blushed and held herself against him. His thumbs stroked the outline of her belly, and Sakura smiled.

When Kizashi stopped sobbing at Sasuke's words, he looked up at the younger man. Sasuke pulled his hand away from Sakura's belly and extended it to Kizashi in a handshake. He sighed and gripped Sasuke's hand, giving it a brisk shake.

"You Uchiha's better make some beautiful babies." He muttered, earning an awkward giggle from Sakura and a blush from Sasuke.

* * *

_moment three: the dress_

* * *

"Sakura, we're only going out to eat at the Garden's, it's really not that fancy-" Sasuke started, but was immediately cut off as a shirt was thrown at him. He sighed, and pulled the shirt from his eyes, setting it down on the bed. He crossed his arms and watched his wife run around their bedroom, flinging open her drawers and closet. She let out a small wail.

"Oh, nothing fits anymore! This belly makes all of my shirts looked cropped!" She complained and rummaged through a drawer. Sasuke sighed again.

"Just wear the one with the blue ribbon-"

"No! That makes me look fat!" She screeched. Sasuke's eye twitched. He disappeared into the bathroom and locked the door to avoid his pregnant wife's mood change. He took a quick shower, and when he emerged from the bathroom, twenty minutes later, and creaked open the door to peak out and look for Sakura, he swallowed. She was stood leaning up against the chest of drawers, and it was clear that she was unable to sit.

She had wriggled herself into a formal, white pencil dress. The planes of the tight fitting dress clung to her voluptuous curves, along with the large swell of her belly. If she even moved to sit down or bend in that dress, it would probably break. She stepped into a pair of white heels, ignoring the ache in her ankles. Sasuke quickly changed, and ignored his wife's glances. If he spoke, he would only say the wrong thing and make her angry. He quietly pulled on a dress shirt and dark slacks.

"Well? What do you think?" Sakura's happy tone chimed through the air, and Sasuke twitched. He quickly buttoned up his shirt and rolled up the sleeves, meeting his wife's eyes quickly.

"You look gorgeous." He said, and turned away to step into his shoes. Sakura giggled.

Sakura made it through the entire dinner (sitting awkwardly in her chair of course), and never complained about the high heels or the fact that her stomach was bulging against the seams of her dress. It wasn't until she stood up at the end, taking Sasuke's hand, and dropped her purse. She forgot for a second about her tight attire, and quickly bent down to pick up the purse. Sasuke's eyes widened as there was a sudden, loud rip of material. Sakura shot up and turned in circle, trying to look behind her. Sasuke quickly grabbed a napkin, held it in his hands and put his arm around his wife.

"How bad is it?" Sakura whispered, ignoring the stares from those in the restaurant. Sasuke swallowed.

"Not good." He whispered and quickly escorted her out the restaurant. Sakura whimpered and clutched her husband's arm as he covered the large rip of her dress on her behind. She shivered at the contact of the outside air to her lower back and skin. When she stumbled in her high heels the first time and cursed out, Sasuke picked her up bridal style and quickly walked her home. She clung to his neck and let out a small sob.

"Stupid dress." She whimpered, and Sasuke chuckled, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Wait until we get home and I'll rip it right off you." He whispered huskily, and suddenly Sakura's lips were on his hungrily. Kami, mood swings were a funny thing.

* * *

He kicked open the compound door, lips still attached to Sakura's heatedly and headed straight for the bedroom. He flung her on the bed, and she let out a small moan happily, her arms coming out to her sides. Sasuke quickly wrestled her out of her heels, threw them aside, and lifted her up into his lap on the edge of the bed. At first, he started to tug down the zipper of her dress, but when it didn't budge, he growled and ripped it open. Sakura let out a surprised gasp.

"Sasuke! This was my favorite-" He pressed his lips back to hers to hush her, continuing to rip the seams of the dress open. Sakura's sadness at the destroyed dress quickly turned into lust as she realized just how sexy it was that Sasuke was ripping her dress open. She fumbled with the buttons of his white shirt, as he pulled the dress off her shoulders and down her back. He quickly rid her of the destroyed material, and his shirt came off too.

Her hands found his pants and she moved them to his crotch, fingers stroking the area. His breath hitched and he moved up to pull her back into his lap. Just as he was about to continue to kiss her hungrily, and hopefully _go further_, she bit her lip and looked at him meakly. Her hands, much to his sadness, pulled away from him.

"Sasuke? Could you get me some chocolate from the fridge? I'm craving it right now." He sighed and pulled away from her and made his way into the kitchen.

"Hurry back, _big boy_." She said huskily as he left the room and his lip twitched.

When he returned with the bar of chocolate, Sakura was curled up on her side, clad still in her lingerie, fast asleep. Sasuke sighed and adjusted his pants, realizing he wouldn't be getting much _attention_ anytime soon. He set down the chocolate, pulled off his slacks and got into bed beside her, arms snaking around Sakura's waist to hold her to his chest. He sighed.

How in the hell did Shikamaru manage to control _his_ urges?

* * *

_moment four: house warming_

* * *

"Sasuke, we're going to be late!"

Sakura stood behind the couch where her husband was lounging in the living room, tapping her foot. She placed her hands on her hips and flicked the back his his head, trying to get his attention. Sasuke's eyes opened slowly the contact, and he frowned.

"Hn?" Sakura flicked his head again and made her way around the couch to stand in front of him, her hands still on her his agitatedly.

"Sasuke!" Are you even listening to me?" Sasuke's eyes closed once more, and he stretched his arms behind his head, letting out a yawn. He sighed, a small frown perched on his face.

"We still have an hour til the dobe wants us there." Sakura flung up her arms.

"Exactly! An hour! So come on! Get up, so we can get ready and be there early!" Sasuke sighed deeper. He lowered his hands, fingers snaking out in front of him to meet his wife's waist. He gently pulled her towards him, so she was standing between his legs. He leaned forward and rested his head on Sakura's growing stomach. She was only a few months pregnant, and the round shape of the growing child was quite obvious. He sighed into her abdomen, and wrapped his arms around her. She smiled and stroked his hair.

"I don't want to go." Sasuke admitted, and Sakura giggled.

"We can't miss Neji and TenTen's house warming party, are you crazy? The Hyuuga's gave Neji a mansion of a compound for the two of them, we have to go!"

Sasuke frowned and tightened his arms around her.

"We just had an event for them three months ago." He whined childishly into the cotton of her dress, leaving the sounds of his voice to echo into a mumble. Sakura smiled and pulled his head from her bulging stomach gently, tilting his chin up to meet her eyes with a manicured nail.

"It's the first time I'll be at a social event where it'll be obvious that I'm pregnant." She said gently, watching as Sasuke's eyes roamed down her stomach and then back up to her face. He sighed out.

"Fine." Sakura pressed a large kiss to his lips, and Sasuke's fingers shot up to cup her cheeks gently. Just as his tongue snaked out into her mouth to deepen the kiss, Sakura pulled away. She yanked him up by his elbow and pushed him towards the bedroom. She ignored Sasuke's growls in protest.

"Put on a nice robe, and remember, frowning causes wrinkles!" Sasuke muttered a storm of incoherent sentences, as Sakura flounced away take a hot bath. In the end, Sasuke was ready a while before Sakura, and was stood in the living room, arms crossed, his face showing his impatience. When she finally emerged from the bedroom, dressed and ready, Sasuke felt a familiar sense of deja vu. She was wearing her hair up in a new twist with Tsunade's clip, her lips bright red, cheeks glowing and pink. She was wearing her newly bought thigh length black dress, both of the straps off the shoulder, and the shapeless material showed the full extent of her bulging belly. She looked down, blushing.

"Does-Does this look alright?" She murmured and looked at her husband, who was gaping at her. He bit his lip and nodded.

"Kami, you look beautiful." He admitted, and Sakura kissed his cheek, wiping off the lipstick stain with a giggle. Sasuke held out his hand to her, and she took it gently, finding his fingers intertwined with hers. She smiled and placed her other hand on the top of her round stomach.

"I have a feeling that when this little one starts kicking, I won't get any sleep." She muttered, and Sasuke chuckled. He kissed his wife's head and escorted her out of the door.

At Neji and TenTen's house warming party, all eyes were on Sakura as she made her way from room to room, socializing. And when Sakura's feet ached after the party was ending, Sasuke picked her up gently and carried her home through the streets of Konaha, his arms supporting her back and knees. Those still out in the streets as the sun was setting came out to stare at the two once more.

_Lady Uchiha is glowing from carrying a child!_

_They look so happy!_

_Can you see how much love the Lord Uchiha has for his wife by the way he looks at her?_

_Imagine, the same cold Uchiha boy turning into a father.._

It was after the two had undressed and slowly gotten into bed that night, and Sakura was on her side, her husband's chest pressed to her back, arms around her, when she felt it. Her hands shot to her belly, and she nudged her husband's chest with her elbow.

"Sasuke!" She whispered happily, biting her lip. "I felt a kick!" Sasuke's eyes shot open, and his hands quickly moved to cover hers on her stomach. As soon as he did, he felt a small kick against his palms. His breath hitched, and he held back tears.

"Hello, little one." Sakura whispered gently and stroked her husband's hands.

* * *

**A/N: **_I plan on adding more of these little moment chapters, so stick around! Updates may be delayed, as I am now a college student and I have a lot of shit to do. Patience is a virtue! And also, if you ever have any requests for cute little moments I can write about, post a review with them and I'll choose a few lucky ones each time c: Thanks for following guys!_


	18. XVIII: moments

**A/N:** _Sorry I haven't updated this recently, I hit an inspiration high for some of my other stories lol. But now I'm back yay! I am also taking requests for moments to feature in this story, so leave your suggestions in a PM or the reviews section. Thanks guys! Enjoy!_

* * *

• moments: part two •

* * *

_moment five: the festival_

* * *

Sasuke had been acting weird lately. Well not weird, not cold weird or alone, just... _weird. _Secretive. Sakura was going to ask him about it one night when he was helping her put away the dishes, but she bit her lip and held back. And plus, right as she would have asked him the question, her bladder twisted, and being a pregnant woman, she had to pee for what seemed like the twentieth time that day. She never let Sasuke for one moment forget that she was pregnant.

In the morning, when he was still snuggled into her neck, breathing softly, _refusing_ to let her out from his embrace so that she could get up and go to the market, she would slap his arms profusely, earning a grunt from his soft lips.

"Sasuke, let your wife and child go, _shannaro_!" She would whisper quickly and he sighed, beginning to press kisses into her neck. Of course, having mood swings and all, she would get into it, letting him roll her over onto her back, ignoring the small pain from his child pressing against her spine, his head traveling down to her nightgown. But then, as always, she felt the pang in her bladder and would roll away, ignoring his groans of disapproval.

She had taken her maternity leave from the hospital a week ago and had spent most of her days scheduling ultrasounds, check ups and walking around the house. He was home that day too, taking a day off but she caught sight of him standing anxiously by the phone. She raised an eyebrow, but left it alone, heading into their living room to watch tv (cha! She finally ordered one, after weeks of convincing Sasuke that it was a necessity.)

In a few days, Konaha would be celebrating the winter solstice festival. There would be booths, games, dancing, fireworks, and everything in between. Sakura had mentioned it only once to Sasuke and he was silent. After that, she had began to rant about the attire for the festival, traditional formal robes, and how her favorite one (and her others, sadly), clearly would not tie up around her bulging belly. She was only four months pregnant, but the child grew quickly. Sasuke had been silent, listening to her complaining, and ushered her gently to bed after dinner. The next morning, he was gone. His excuse, when he returned home that evening, was that he had to help Naruto with something Hokage related.

The day before the festival, Sakura was lounging on the couch, her aching feet propped up on a pillow, snuggled into a blanket from the cold front that was slowly coming over Konaha, open book on her belly, when Sasuke emerged in front of her. He kneeled down, fingers brushing the soft skin of her arm gently.

"I have a surprise for you.." He murmured in her ear, and she shivered, closing her book. She let a small frown cover her features. Surprise? He never gave her surprises. That wasn't counting certain..activities. She blushed and sat up slowly, Sasuke's hands helping her. His fingers strayed to her stomach.

"What is it?" She asked gently, curiously. Sasuke smirked and played with the soft skin of her exposed stomach. There was a small nudge against his fingers, and his hands shot up to cover he exposed area, forehead to her stomach. He let out a small noise in happiness, and Sakura stroked his hair affectionately. Every time the baby kicked, he went mad, and she loved it. Slowly, he pulled his hands from her stomach and stood up, helping her up off the couch. He gently led her into their bedroom, and stood aside as she looked towards the bed.

There was a long, thin package resting on the bed, wrapped in red ribbon. Her eyes widened.

"W-what-" Hands fell on her waist and slowly pressed her towards the bed, where the box was perched. as soon as her legs met the smoothness of the comforter, his hands disappeared from her waist and he stepped back, watching her.

"Open it." He murmured, and she swallowed. _What was he.._ She slowly reached out with shaking fingers and pulled at the tie of the bow, watching as the silk rolled undone. She pulled the ribbon from the box gently and gripped the lid. Slowly and gently, she lifted the cardboard material up and away, setting it down beside the ribbon. There was a mass of white tissue paper, and her fingers tenderly pulled it away, her breath hitching in a gasp.

In the mass of white paper, lay a folded film of soft, baby pink silk. The large insignia of the Uchiha clan's fan printed in the center of it. Sakura gasped once more, fingers slowly pulling the material up and out of the box to look at it. It was a robe, the edges cut in black to match the outline of the Uchiha fan on the back. Around the trim of the pink silk was a large icon of Sakura flowers in shining silver. Sakura's eyes watered.

"S-sasuke.." She started but he cut her off, moving behind her to rest his cheek on the top of her head.

"It's time that you became Uchiha Sakura.." He murmured and she started to cry, holding the silk gently to her chest. She swung around in his arms and pressed her head to his chest, sobbing.

"It's.. so.. beauti..ful.." She choked out and she heard him chuckle. He wrapped her in his arms, pressing a kiss to her head.

"It's one of many more." He promised gently, and Sakura smiled into the material of his shirt.

* * *

She wore her robe proudly that night, thanking that Sasuke ordered the winter addition, as the air turned cold; snow threatening to begin falling. The robe flowed over her large stomach, and her face held a large smile the entire night. She had pulled her hair up into a traditional bun and clasp, her cheeks glowing with motherhood and happiness. Sasuke never left her side the entire night, his fingers entangled in hers.

Their matching Uchiha fans on their robes said it all.

Her hand also never left her stomach, the shining silver wedding band on her finger shimmering under the paper lanterns and lights. She also felt Sasuke's eyes on her face the entire night, his eyes filled with love and pure bliss. She smiled to herself, heart melting. And even when she met up with her friends, they smiled warmly at her. Everyone in the village knew that Sakura deserved this happiness and that she finally got her life long wish.

For the firework display, he lead her away from the busy parties and booths and towards the Team 7 bridge, as it had the perfect spot to see the Hokage tower and Konaha wall from across the river. Sakura placed her palms on the bridge's rail, and she felt Sasuke stand behind her, arms wrapping protectively around her belly, warm chest pressed against her back. She blushed and leaned into his neck.

"Merry Early Christmas, Sakura." He whispered in her ear, and she giggled.

* * *

_moment six: paint, love and the doctors_

* * *

While Sasuke was out that morning at work, Sakura went into his old room, and then what used to be Itachi's. She bit her lip, looking at the plain surroundings. She was doing her usual, monthly house cleaning, when she had hesitated at the emptier part of the household. Before she had conceived, she planned on asking Sasuke if they could transform one of the old bedrooms into a nursery. She bit her lip harder. She would do it soon, and would pray that he would understand and let her do it. They had come so far.. she didn't want to touch a sensitive nerve.

She was dusting out one of the other spare bedrooms, when she heard the front door to the compound open and close.

"Sakura?" Sasuke called out, his voice faint, gentle. She smiled to herself. Kami, he had changed so much.

"In here!" She called, knowing he already sensed which room she was in. Within a minute, strong hands wrapped around her from behind, lips finding her hair. She giggled, and resumed cleaning the nightstand, which as always, was riddled with dust from the lack of use.

"How was work?" She asked, and he groaned against her neck, hands tightening around her.

"Hell. I was out all morning catching some petty thief who likes to steal old ladies' purses." Sakura giggle again. She reached around her to stroke Sasuke's head, her fingers running through his hair in a motherly fashion. He let out a small breath in bliss. Sakura thought back to her question for him and bit her lip. She turned around in his arms, and cupped his cheek. His eyes opened, obsidian orbs lazily staring into hers with curiosity.

"Sasuke..ah.. I would really like it.." he raised an eyebrow and she swallowed, closing her eyes, "if we could turn one of the spare bedrooms into a nursery for the baby." Her hand fell to her stomach and she squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for his response. She expected a hitched breath, coldness, perhaps even a simple no. But instead, she found warm fingers under her chin, tilting her head upwards. She opened her eyes, and found he was smiling ever so slightly.

"Which one?" He murmured and Sakura swallowed, letting out a nervous laugh with a shrug.

"Ah, which ever you want!" He nodded, and his eyes lowered in thought, before raising back up to meet hers.

"Let's use Itachi's room." Her breath hitched.

"A-are you sure-" He nodded, cutting her off with a kiss to her lips. His breath fanned against her nose.

"It's closer to our bedroom, and I think that it's perfect." Is all he said. Sakura nodded. Well, that was easier than she had expected.

* * *

The next night while they were sharing a small dinner in quiet, Sauske's words had stunned her, making her jump.

"I want to know the sex." He said gently and persistently. Sakura gasped in a breath and set down her fork. Doctors could tell you the sex of your child way earlier than five months along, but Sasuke never mentioned it to her, or to the ultrasound technician as he accompanied her to her checkups. In all honesty, Sakura was practically pulling her hair out, wanting so badly to know if she would give birth to a boy or girl, but she knew that if she did it in secret, it would slip out to Sasuke and she didn't want him getting mad. She had just assumed that he wanted it to be a surprise.

"A-ah.. okay." She nodded. A blush formed on his cheeks and his lips parted. He searched quickly for words to explain his sudden outburst.

"It would make painting the nursery easier." He said, and Sakura laughed. She reached across the table to take Sasuke's hand in hers warmly.

"I agree." She murmured.

* * *

The day after they found out the sex of the child (**A/N: I am totally evil, but I think that I'll wait a bit longer to tell you guys what the sex of the baby is. *eyebrow wriggle* *evil laugher* *coughing* anyways moving on**) and the two were ecstatic, Sasuke dragged her out to the paint store and they quickly chose in unison the color for the walls. Sasuke, being the protective husband and soon to be father that he was, refused Sakura's pleas to let her help him paint the walls, and did it himself quickly and perfectly. He had planned on asking Naruto to come over and help him with the job, but Naruto knowing the sex of the child meant that within the next half hour the whole of Konaha would know the sex of the child.

Sakura stood in the middle of the room, watching as her husband rolled the lacquer onto the walls, marveling at his delicate strokes. When he was done, he sat in the center of the room, panting, legs crossed. Sakura giggled and slowly lowered herself to sit next to him, hand on her back. As soon as she was perched on the floor, hands flew out to her hips, pulling her (and her extra weight) onto a soft lap. Sakura giggled, marveling at Sasuke's strength to perch his wife and child on his legs without effort or pain. He smirked, his fingers running up to her cheeks.

She tried to speak, to thank him for doing such a good job, but he cut her off with a heated kiss to her lips, tongue battling hers. Sasuke was very protective of his growing child and Sakura's well being, and he knew that having sex was out of the question, but he was a man, he still had urges, so the two of them found creative ways to solve said problem. And Sakura's mood swings slowly gave way to raging pregnancy-initiated hormones and a very healthy libido.

His fingers slowly gripped the hem of Sakura's dress, pulling it up her thighs to bundle at her waist. She blushed as his fingers disappeared into the cotton of her panties, eagerly rubbing her soft folds. Sakura mewled and arched her back, pressing her hips against his hand. But, just as she was getting into it, Sasuke's digits driving her off the edge, their child kicked, and Sakura's face scrunched up. She blushed deeply, wriggling against her husbands fingers.

"S-Sasuke.." She whispered, and he grunted against her neck in response. She licked her lips and looked away, embarrassed.

"Uhm..ah, I have to pee.." He sighed and removed his fingers from her, pulling his head up to hers. He chuckled gently, and helped her up as she smoothed her dress, and disappeared into hallway, clutching her stomach.

"You ruined the fun, little one." She whispered, pouting.

* * *

_moment seven: baby names  
_

**(A/N:** **And now, you find out the sex of the baby! Yaaaaay)**

* * *

"Kenji." Sakura snorted.

"That sounds so common." She murmured and flicked the page of the small baby names book she had purchased. Sasuke sighed and put his hands behind his head, closing his eyes. He rested his head in Sakura's lap, and she continued to skim the pages. They were lounging on the bed, trying to pick out baby names.

"Sora?" Sakura suggested, reading the meaning and phoectics. Sasuke grunted.

"No." He said, and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Jin?" Sakura wrinkled her nose and smacked her husband's chest with her book. He scowled.

"Ew no, Sasuke, too... _bland_."

She continued to look through the book, ignoring Sasuke's wandering hands. They snuck down to her knees, calves and then back to her thighs. He turned his head in her lap and pressed his lips to her stomach, fingers pulling her shirt up. She wriggled, concentrating on the names in front of her and smacked him as his head snuck under her shirt.

"Sasuke, this is serious!" He chuckled, pressing his warm lips to her belly, and she shivered.

"How about Sasuke Jr?" He muttered, and she rolled her eyes.

"One Sasuke is enough." At her words, his fingers shot out to grab the book from her hands, tossing it onto the ground. Within seconds, he was kneeling over her, straddling her thighs, lips against hers. _Yep_, Sakura thought blissfully, _definitely enough. _She moaned as his fingers shot up to cup her breasts, kneading the heated skin through her shirt. She gripped his hips, nails digging into his sides. He growled, and pulled his lips down her face to her neck, nipping and biting the skin. His fingers moved down her arms to her hands and he pressed them against his groin. She swallowed, running her hand over his obvious erection. She blushed.

"Sakura.." He gritted his teeth, hips bucking against her hand eagerly. She grabbed the hem of his soft pants, and yanked them down his thighs, gripping him tightly. She ran her thumb over his tip, watching him shiver happily. She began to press her hand up and down his base, and his lips parted, head lulling back in bliss. She began to think baby names again, lips snaking out to kiss Sasuke's neck as he loomed over her.

"Tetsuya." She suggested lightly, and Sasuke moaned, his hips grinding against her hand, not responding. He lowered his lips to hers, blowing hot breath into her mouth, trying to silence her. She gripped his ass, pulling him closer to her, and he panted into her mouth.

"S-Sakura..hn..." She pumped her hand faster, her thoughts still on the names.

"Haru?"

"A-ah.." He began to get closer to coming, his body shaking. He pressed his lips into her neck, breathing heavily. Sakura kissed his ear, fingers running up and down his back gently. She gave him a squeeze, and he fought back a loud moan.

"Katsu." She said nodding and licked the shell of Sasuke's ear. His panting became louder, and soon enough he let out a loud growl, twitching in her hand. Her fingers went warm and she pulled them away as he came off his high, collapsing on her. She licked her fingers and stroked his hair. His lips found hers, and he bit her lower lip, pulling it into his mouth, hands on her thighs.

"Masahiko." He breathed out, trying to control his panting between kisses, and she frowned.

"That sounds funny. Kya, why is this so hard-mmnf!" He pressed his lips back against hers, winding her in his arms gently. He rolled them over onto their sides, hands wrapping around her back. He pulled away to let her breath, kissing her forehead.

"I love you." He said in a sigh, and she giggled. His lips found their way down her neck and to the top of her shirt and she tapped her chin, deep in thought.

"We need a name that sounds pretty, but is manly, but _means something_ important, perhaps a name of someone we once knew?" Sasuke was silent against her skin, also thinking. Then, Sakura thought of something. She breathed out and bit her lip. Should she say the name?

"Itachi." She whispered, and closed her eyes. Sasuke's breath hitched against her skin, his head buried in her neck. He didn't move, and Sakura bit her lip. Crap, now she'd done it.

"Ah, it was only a thought, let's go back to the bo-"

"Itachi." He breathed and she stopped talking in a gasp. He looked up at her tenderly and nodded.

"Itachi Uchiha." He repeated, and she smiled. She pressed her lips to his forehead, and his eyes shut.

"Itachi Uchiha." She agreed gently.

* * *

_moment eight: complications_

* * *

"This is a very important ANBU mission, Uchiha Sasuke, and our forces are already stretched to the limit with our border issues to the west, don't you dare _question me!_" Tsunade roared, slamming her hand down on her desk. Shizune jumped, clutching Tonton tighter, and the small pig squealed. Sasuke planted his feet and crossed his arms, frown settling on his handsome face.

"Tch." Is all he said. Tsunade's upper lip twitched. Well, that explained where Sakura had picked up that trait. The Hokage sighed.

"Look, I know you're busy and now isn't the best time, but you are on our special call out list; and this mission needs someone with special sight for the investigations. It's only a weeks mission-"

"Sakura is days away from going into labor." Sasuke gritted out, shutting Tsunade up. She sighed louder, and rubbed her temples.

"I know, and I am very sorry, but this has to be done. The mission is a piece of cake, I'm sure my best ex-ANBU captain could pull it off in five days instead of a week anyways."

"Hn." Tsunade rubbed her temples again at the silence. As she was going to reach for the mission scroll to hand to him, he spoke gently and quietly.

"If anything, _anything _happens to Sakura, you will tell me _immeditely_." He ordered, and Tsunade looked up at him. In all her years of knowing Sasuke, she had never seen his eyes filled with such worry and love. She bit her lip and nodded quickly. She passed the scroll to his hands and he stood up straight once more, the rolled up parchment between his clenched fingers.

"We will contact you. Dismissed." Sasuke left with a curt, grim nod.

* * *

"A week? Gah, that's so long!" Sakura exclaimed and wriggled among the couch cushions behind her. She wriggled her legs in Sasuke's lap, where he had propped them up over his thighs, fingers massaging her aching legs. He stroked her warm skin, and nodded.

"The ANBU are stretched thin right now, and Tsunade needs someone with special ocular capabilities." Sakura swallowed.

"What about Kakashi-sensei?" She questioned, leaning her head against the back of the couch, tiredly. It was hard to move around, especially when she could deliver any day now. She rubbed her large stomach, and the baby nudged against her fingers. Sasuke sighed loudly.

"He was pulled off of paternity leave to lead the front lines to the west, along with the Hyuga girl; so it's just me." Sakura bit her lip and nodded sadly. Slowly, Sasuke's fingers slipped from around her legs up her thighs and waist to intertwine themselves with her fingers. He leaned down and pressed his lips over their hands.

"W-what if I go into labor-" She started, and Sasuke's lips kissed her knuckles, eyes hidden by his bangs.

"Tsunade will notify me the minute anything happens. The mission is out in the Land of the Mist, so it won't take me even a day to get back here if need be." Sakura nodded, tears coming to her eyes.

"I won't deliver without you there, Sasuke.." She said confidently, and he chuckled against her skin, his warm breath sending shivers up her spine. He lifted his head and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"He'll be born when it's his time." He murmured, and Sakura nodded slowly once more. She clutched his fingers and her eyes fell shut.

"I love you." She whispered, and Sasuke smiled against her head.

"I love you, too."

* * *

After about an hour of Sasuke's eager fretting and lecturing of what Sakura should do and not do during her week by herself, she finally got him to leave the compound with a giggle. She knew he would work effortlessly, intelligently, and quickly to get home to her as soon as he could. And who knows, a week by herself could be a good thing. She needed another trip to the sauna and springs to ease her achy muscles.

Ino and Naruto were the only two Jounin level ninja who had not been sent out to the conflict in the west (Naruto had far too much Hokage training to catch up on, and Ino was needed as head interrogator), so they took turns visiting Sakura, checking up on her. Naruto brought news of his very close, upcoming proposal to Hinata, when she returned from the fight, and Ino, in a flurried blush, confided that she and Shikamaru were trying to conceive again. Sakura warmly kissed her friends cheeks at both of their joyous pieces of news.

By the middle of the week, the baby began to get jumpy. Sakura would wake up numerous times in the night with pains, cramping, and the child kicking. She breathed out and knew it was only what they called 'fake contractions'.

The day of the end of Sasuke's week mission, when she knew he would be back soon, she thought that she could make it through the last part without him and she would go into labor early the next week. She had been cooking a small rice bowl for her lunch that day, when her bladder convulsed and the child kicked. Thinking it was her usual signs of needing the bathroom, she pressed a hand to her stomach and went to head out of the kitchen, when a rush of liquid shot down her thighs. She swallowed and looked down.

Hurriedly, she called up Ino, pressing her damp legs together, rubbing her abdomen. Ino picked up on the second ring.

"Moshi moshi."

"Ino..ah.. my water just broke." There was a loud scream in happiness from the other line, and then silence.

"_IT'S TIME!_" Ino sung over the phone, and promised to be around in five minutes. Sakura hung up, and stood there, playing with the small silver bracelet around her wrist. It was a classy, tennis bracelet, with a simplistic link style, and a small, Uchiha fan charm cut in ruby stones. She played with the charm, deep in thought. Sasuke had gotten it for her as her birthday present a few weeks back. She smiled to herself. Twenty-one and pregnant. She giggled and let the charm slip through her fingers airily when a cramp moved through her abdomen. She winced, rubbing her stomach, when Ino rang the doorbell. When she opened the door for her best friend, she was surprised to see Naruto next to her, grinning happily.

"Naruto's your pumpkin carriage for today, m'lady!" Ino clapped her hands and Naruto swiftly picked Sakura up bridal style, supporting her weight. Sakura blushed and wrapped her hands around Naruto's neck. Ino nodded and looked around her.

"Naruto, lead her to the hospital, I'll pack her a little over night bag with some toiletries." Ino disappeared into her bathroom, as Naruto led her out of the compound. He was silent, but smiling, and she could see tears in his eyes.

"Naruto.." Sakura murmured, but Naruto smiled larger, tears falling down his face.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan..ah.. I just never thought.. we would be so happy.." He grinned at her and laughed awkwardly. Sakura smacked a kiss to his cheek, and looked behind her, seeing Ino in tow with a small bag. She smiled.

"I love you guys." She said happily, and then winced as the first contraction kicked in.

* * *

_"DID YOU ALERT THE TEME YET? HE NEEDS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW, 'TTEBAYO!"_

_"IF YOU DO NOT SHUT UP, NARUTO, I WILL POUND YOUR HEAD IN AND REVOKE YOUR TRAINING!"_

_"OW! TSUNADE-BAA-SAMA DON'T HIT ME!" _

Sakura giggled at the loud voices from outside of her hospital room. Ino had disappeared to check Sakura in for the night, and Naruto had been in charge of making sure Sasuke received the message. The ANBU sent out the message, and within seconds, received a response from Sasuke.

_On my way, tell Sakura to breathe._

She smiled at his message and did so, as the noise outside the door disappeared. Then the door slid open, and Tsunade stepped in, her hands holding the stethoscope around her neck. She smiled warmly at her ex-student, which brought tears to Sakura's eyes.

"Did you tell my parents?" She pondered, and Tsunade nodded, taking a seat beside Sakura's bed.

"They were out on their usual bargain hunting shop, but they promised to be here in about an hour." Sakura nodded, her hands pressing into her belly. She let out an airy wince. Tsunade's hand fell on Sakura's and gave it a squeeze.

"As you know, contractions can last for hours, and you won't be dilated for another few I should think."

"I hope Sasuke will get here in time.." She murmured, and Tsunade kissed her head, motherly.

"He's the fastest ANBU we have, if he needs to rush, you're damn right he will." Sakura giggled at her ex-teacher's comment and continued to rub her stomach.

* * *

As promised, an hour later, Sakura's parents rushed into her room, her mother throwing her arms around her daughter in a teary embrace, Sakura's father patting her hand.

"Where's my darling son-in-law, eh?" He asked, and Sakura laughed.

"He was on a mission, he should be here in a few hours I should think." Kizashi nodded slowly.

When Sakura's contractions began to grow stronger, and the intervals between them got smaller, her parents were ushered into the waiting room, along with Ino and Naruto. Tsunade checked Sakura and nodded.

"You've started to dilate." Sakura bit her lip.

"Shishou?"

"What is it, Sakura?" Tsunade's voice was careful, curious. Sakura smiled, tears coming to her eyes.

"Would..would you deliver the child for me?" Tsunade broke down happily, wrapping Sakura in her arms. They held each other tightly as they stopped crying, and Tsunade wiped her eyes, a smug smile on her lips.

"You don't need to ask me twice, I already booted off the other doctor from the job." Sakura laughed.

* * *

Six hours of mindless contractions was grueling, but thanks to Sakura's perfect chakra control, she managed to push back most of the pain receptors. She bit her lip and looked out of the window at the setting sun. It would get dark soon. Where was Sasuke? Another group of pains wracked through her body and she bit her lip to keep from screaming. She was almost ready, and the sweat sticking to her hair and forehead proved it.

Thirty minutes later, she was being rushed down the long, hospital hallway, teeth gritting in a long groan, hair splayed out around her, damply. Tsunade loomed over her as she wheeled her down to the delivery room with the help of Shizune and another nurse. Sakura puffed out a breath.

"Is... Sasuke... here... yet?" She forced out between sharp pains, and Tsunade's face looked grim. Shizune bit her lip.

"Sasuke-san should be here soon, we haven't heard from him otherwise." Sakura nodded and gripped the sheets between her hands, finally letting out a partial scream.

She was prepared in the room, legs raised, back arching and contracting, ready to begin pushing. _Sasuke_, she thought quickly, _please hurry.._

There was loud banging outside of the delivery room and two men knocked on the door, not wanting to disturb the privacy of the room, but also sounded urgent.

"Lady Hokage, a large hawk just swooped over the Konaha gates and entered the village!" Sakura's eyes widened. Tsunade frowned, but then, there was a large roar of laughter from the waiting room across the hallway.

"_TEME'S HERE!_" Naruto screamed, and Sakura began pushing.

* * *

He ran through the emptying streets, eyes focused on getting closer to the Konaha hospital. He was going to make it. His teeth gritted, _he would not miss this moment_. He slammed open the doors to the lobby and Hana stood up behind her desk, her eyes wide. Sasuke frowned and looked frantically at her.

"My wife, Uchiha Sakura is in labor." He said quickly, and Hana sat back down, scouring her check in sheet, and nodded. She pointed to the hallway to her left.

"She's getting ready to deliver now in room-" Sasuke ran past her, pushing open the doors as he did. Hana smiled and sat back down. Sasuke looked at the room numbers as he passed, and then froze. He could hear Sakura's muffled screams coming from in front of him. He continued running, finally finding the appropriate, large room titled 'Labor & Delivery'. He swung open the double doors, and saw Tsunade swing around, gloves shining with sweat on her hands. She opened her mouth to scream at the imposter, but when she saw who it was, she went silent, and turned back to Sakura.

Sakura's eyes widened, and she threw her head forward as Sasuke crossed towards the bed.

"Sasuke..." She started, and then let out a scream. Sasuke's fingers found hers and he clutched her hand tightly, other hand running through her sweat ridden hair.

"I'm here now.." He murmured into her clammy forehead, and squeezed her hand.

"Time to push, Sakura!" Sakura nodded, and her face scrunched in pain as she bent her abdomen towards her legs, shoulders hunching weakly. She let out a groan in frustration, which led to another scream. Sasuke stroked her head, and his lips found her ear as her body jerked.

"You can do this, Sakura...You're strong.." He murmured so quietly, only she would hear it. Her eyes brimmed with tears and she pushed again. Tsunade let out a gasp of happiness.

"I see the head! Keep going Sakura!"

She wrenched forward, and gripped Sasuke's hand, feeling his hand support her back, and she pushed, a scream coming out of her throat as she did, pain moving up and down her body. She clenched her eyes shut and then opened them again, panting heavily. Sasuke's hands brushed her hair off of her forehead, and she ignored the bright light of the room, Shizune's rushing around and Tsunade's persistent orders. She focused on Sasuke's warm hand, and panted again.

"Almost there.. One more push, Sakura. Ready? One.. two.. three!" She pushed with every ounce of strength in her body, and Sasuke's arm snaked around her shoulders to support her neck. Suddenly, she felt relief, as if the pressure between her legs was gone. She collapsed back against the pillow of Sasuke's warm skin and breathed heavily. A small mewl of a cry cut through the silence of the room. Sasuke's breath hitched, as Tsunade stood up from between Sakura's legs, holding a small bundle covered in blood.

"A boy." She declared, and tears slipped down Sakura's cheeks. Sasuke's lips found their way back to her ear in a small whisper.

"Well done, my love." She blushed, and he kissed her forehead, stroking her back. Shizune took the baby from Tsunade's arms as she cut the umbilical chord and wrapped the baby in blankets to clean him. Sakura opened her arms, and Shizune gently set the small baby in them, smiling and retreating. Sakura looked down at the small baby, fingers playing with the top of his head. Tears fell freely down her cheeks, as she looked at him.

His eyes were closed, his head showing the smallest hint of black hair, fingers clenched at his chest. His lips parted in a small mewl of breath, and Sasuke made a noise of tenderness from his throat beside her. His fingers stroked the baby's cheeks, and Sakura smiled, seeing tears fall down his cheeks. The baby opened his eyes at the touch, and Sakura smiled at the kohl colored orbs. Just like his father.

"Hello, little Itachi.." Sakura murmured, and Sasuke's arms encircled his wife and new son.

* * *

Sakura was left in her room to get some rest, as instructed by Tsunade, so Sasuke slowly made his way down the hallway towards the waiting room, son gently in the cradle of his arms. His eyes never left his face as he entered the large room. Sakura's parents, Naruto and Ino shot up out of their chairs simultaneously, and quietly. Sakura's parents approached Sasuke first, her mother's fingers stroking the baby's head. Kizashi held his arm around his wife and looked at Sasuke.

"Well now, who is this little one, hm?" Sakura's mother murmured, and a ghost of a smile crossed Sasuke's lips.

"Itachi." He said strongly. "Uchiha Itachi."

Had he looked past Kizashi, he would have seen Naruto sobbing loudly, his mouth wide in a smile. Ino approached Sasuke next, and hugged him with one arm, smiling too. He put his hand to her back in the form of a hug, and she pulled away laughing.

"I'll go check on your poor exhausted wife." She murmured and slipped into the hallway. Sasuke looked up and his eyes met Naruto's. In an instant, Naruto was up on his feet, and his arms wound around Sasuke, careful not to press against the child in his best friends arms. He let his tears fall onto Sasuke's shirt, hands gripping the material. Sasuke chuckled, and with one hand, wrapped an arm around the blond.

"Dobe." He said lightly, and Naruto sniffed.

"We're not silly genin anymore!" Naruto sobbed, and Sasuke smirked, patting his back as Naruto let out another string of tears. When he calmed down, he pulled away from Sasuke and wiped his eyes.

"Be happy, Sasuke. Treat her right, and love your son." Sasuke smirked gently and nodded.

"You too... Naruto." They shook hands.

* * *

Ino snuck silently out of Sakura's room as Sasuke entered once more, his eyes still on his son. Sakura moved over in the bed, and patted the space beside her, with a smile on her face. Sasuke perched himself on the side of the bed, and slowly passed his son to Sakura, who held him gently. Her lips found Sasuke's and he cupped her cheeks, breath hitching in a flurry of emotions. When she pulled away, he bit his lip and stroked her cheek, his other hand on his son's head.

"You are the only one I..", he began and bit his lip once more, searching for words, before continuing, "the only _woman_ that I ever envisioned myself to be with in this moment." She smiled warmly at him and kissed his cheek. He wound his arm around her, and she settled her head into his shoulder, both of their eyes on their son's sleeping face.

"He's going to look just like you." She murmured with a giggle, and Sasuke 'hn'ed beside her.

"Thank god he didn't have pink hair." He muttered, and Sakura muffled a loud laugh behind her hand.

* * *

**A/N:** _Yayyy! Another chapter done! I plan to maybe do one or two more moments chapters of this and then leave the rest of their memories up to the readers' imaginations. Hopefully next chapter I can update way faster. Such a happy chapter, this one was :,) Hope you enjoyed!_


	19. XIX: moments

**A/N: **_Sorry it took so long to update this, I have been focused on my other stories and I had midterms ;o. I think this will be the last moments chapter, I think I've dragged this on long enough LOL. Sorry guys, I've lost inspiration for this one xD Plus I'm working on other pieces soo. Anyways, enjoy!_

* * *

• moments: part three •

* * *

_moment nine: the happiest_

* * *

Sakura giggled at the sight beside her.

She had been checked out of the hospital a few days after delivering, and Sasuke had escorted her home, silent the whole time. But she knew he was happy. She bit her lip to hold back a smile, her arms tightening around her baby. Sasuke's fingers stroked her hair.

He took his paternity leave from the Police Force for a few months, and Sakura had a long year to look forward to with no work. Itachi grew quickly, which wasn't unexpected, he was a Uchiha after all, and within months, dark hairs began to emerge on his head. One morning, when Itachi was a few months old, she had awoken to her husband's steady warmth spreading across the sheets, to her side of the bed and the soft mewl of her son. She cracked open her eyes in curiousity, and held back a laugh.

Sasuke was already awake, laying on his back with his head buried in the pillow. He gently cupped his hands under his son's arms, and was holding him up, lips parted in a coo. Sakura bit her lip. She scooted closer to her husband and son and her lips found Sasuke's cheek. He chuckled, and turned his head so that her lips met his, fingers still tickling the skin of his son's ribs. The baby let out a small mewl.

"Good morning." Sakura murmured, her eyes opening slowly as she pulled away from his lips. Sasuke smirked gently, and kissed her forehead. She hummed lightly and turned on her side, propping her head in her elbow as she watched Sasuke's eyes slowly grace over his son's closed eyes, parted lips, and slow moving limbs. Sakura let out another giggle.

"Did you wake him up for this?" She teased, and she watched Sasuke's own lips pout gracefully.

"No." He huffed, and bounced the baby up and down gently, earning a noise of appreciation from Itachi. Sakura reached out to stroke Itachi's small, plump face and smiled.

Suddenly, she thought of something, and her fingers covered her son's smooth head, caressing the skin.

"Sasuke?" She asked lightly, and he turned to look at her, eyes curious.

"Hn?"

"Ah.. I remember when we babysat Shin for Shikamaru and Ino and you said afterwords that 'All you've ever wanted to be was a father.'" She swallowed, and Sasuke nodded quickly, eyebrow raising at her in question. He remained silent as he waited for her to continue.

"I just.. when did you .. when did you know that you wanted to be a father?" He searched her face gently, before lying Itachi down on his chest, stroking his back. His other hand wrapped around his wife, pulling her flush against him. He kissed her head once more.

"It was after we got back from the war,", he started, his eyes on his son's head and closed eyes. He continued to stroke his back, and caress his wife's shoulder. "I got let out from interrogation early one day, and sent home to rest. I was headed towards the market area to pick up some tomatoes and rice to prepare something quick to eat, and when I was heading back down the street towards the compound, which was still being renovated, there was a couple and their son playing around by the bench." He swallowed, and Sakura already knew which bench he was referring to. She nodded, and he sighed, continuing in a slow, hushed tone. "They just looked so..." he searched for the right word, licking his lower lip, "so.. _happy_. The boy was so young, and innocent, and the parents...there are no words to describe how much love was radiating off of them. My feet wouldn't move, it was as if I was frozen, paralyzed in place. Just watching them made me think of my parents, and my brother, and I.. I just lost it. I knew that one day I would have to rebuild my clan, knew I would have to have children, but that day, I was hit by the emotional impact of it."

He swallowed, but continued. "I knew that after everything was over, and now that I was _free_, I wanted a son, not right then of course, but someday, a child who I could protect, and raise to keep out of the shadows. I knew that having a family would complete my life someday."

Sakura wiped away the tears that came to her eyes and snuggled her face into her husbands chest. He chuckled and cupped her head, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He wrapped an arm around her and his other around his son, and closed his eyes.

"T-That was so beautiful.." Sakura whispered, and Sasuke snorted.

"How annoying." He muttered teasingly, and Sakura laughed. She lifted up her head from his warm skin and kissed him, palms cupping his cheeks. He stroked the back of her head affectionately, and she pulled away, gently resting her forehead to his. She looked into his curious eyes and smiled, still teary eyed.

"You don't know how thankful I am that you can open up to me." She whispered, and a slow smirk spread to his lips. He kissed her once more, and ran his hand down her spine, watching her shiver.

"It was worth it." He shrugged. She giggled, and her eyes went back to her son, who was slowly falling asleep from the steady warmth coming off of his father's chest and the soothing feel of his hand stroking his back.

"We are the happiest." She murmured with a nod, and put her head back to her husband's shoulder. He tightened his grip on her, and rested his head on her hair.

"Yes." He agreed, closing his eyes.

* * *

_moment ten: graveyard blues_

* * *

_He is eighteen, and she has just agreed to marry him. He feels so many weights begin to lift from his shoulders, and he knows, just _knows_ that the future is brighter than he ever considered it to be. Everything would be okay. _

_He wakes up early that morning to go down to the grounds lined with headstones of fallen comrades. It takes him a while, but he finally convinces the Hokage to place a stone in the back corner for Uchiha Itachi. He heads there now, a small bunch of simple flowers in his hand. He lays down the flowers and silently kneels in front of the hunk of stone with the Hidden Leaf insignia carved into it. He bows his head in respect. _

_"Big brother.." He murmurs, and closes his eyes slowly. He struggles to find the appropriate words to start out his conversation, and finally just lets his mind ease, words slipping from his lips like honey. _

_"I've asked her to be my wife.. her name is Sakura. Haruno Sakura."_

_He hesitates for a second, before continuing with a hard swallow. _

_"She was the girl from the Academy with baby pink hair. I'm going to rebuild the Uchiha clan, restore it's honor. I'm going to do it in your name, Itachi. And I'm going to keep it from the darkness this time." _

_His chest is heavy, and he lets a simple tear slip down his cheek. _

_"Everything will be okay. No one will have burdens to carry on their shoulders." He promises, before standing up and leaving the cemetery without another word. _

_His heart feels lighter than before, and he decides that he is in a good mood, enough of a good mood to perhaps take her out to a movie. _

* * *

_moment eleven: bloodline faults_

* * *

Sakura had to admit, it felt good to be able to come back into work, even if it were for short shifts. After her maternity leave, Sasuke continued to mold his schedule around hers and told her to go take some shifts back at work. She didn't object to him, knowing and smiling at the eagerness that he held of wanting to take care of his son. She sighed and rubbed her back, letting a small yawn escape her lips.

This morning, there was a large amount of papers shoved into her 'incoming' paper box and she wanted to tear out her hair over it. She knew that she would have to take all these papers home, and still had to finish her research papers on fertility (she was almost close to being done courtesy of all the time a pregnant woman had to herself). In order to attempt her finishing touches on her paper, she had to go down to the research room, which was crammed with all sorts of files and papers, as well as patient's reports (being one of the official certified ANBU medics had it's perks).

The A/C was cool on her face as she walked into the room, humming a slow tune that she briefly remembered from a movie Sasuke had taken her to earlier in her pregnancy.

She was rummaging around in one of the messy filing cabinets under bloodline and fertility, when her fingers graced over a very large manila entitled 'Uchiha'. She couldn't help but giggle as she slipped out the file, flicking through the large amount of papers. To her shock, the files went back generations, all on the genetic makeup of the clan. As expected, as she read too, the Uchiha's had marvelous genes, as well as a very high fertility rate. She blushed, flipping through some of the older papers on what she assumed was Sasuke's older relatives, when her eyes caught the title of a smaller, bound stack of papers in the file.

_Mental Illnesses_, it read, and she shivered slightly, slipping the bound papers out of the manila, setting the large file aside. She sat down at the wooden table, perching the files on the table. The ANBU seal was staring back up at her in all of it's glory, and she swallowed, fingers going to the ties on the folder. Within seconds, she had the file opened, papers slipping out everywhere, exposing numerous pictures, files, and notes to her eyes.

Not surprising, like Sasuke had told her of his clan, there were indeed a few over the years, of records of mental instability among the Uchiha. Especially among the male population.

"Oh.." Sakura whispered, slipping out a rumpled paper, that looked like it was one of the oldest. She read over the doctor's notes, as well as the blood results, before her stomach churned, and she had to put the paper back. Her head spun. She knew that no clan was perfect, every clan had faults, but she didn't know such illness had to do with Sasuke's blood line, or his genes. As much as she wanted to just bind up the file and get back to her own research, she found herself rifling her fingers through the papers, searching for a name in particular.

As promised, at the bottom of the large stack, was a file that looked like the newest of the recorded. Her corneas burned as she held up the manila in her hands, biting her lip hard as she read over the scrolled kanji once, twice, and then once more.

_Uchiha Sasuke. _

The folder was already open in her hands before she could even mentally decide if she wanted to adventure into the ANBU's notes on her husband. She skipped past the first few on his genetic makeup, birth notes, and traditional blood work, before coming to rest on the first of the doctors notes.

_Patient seems oddly calm. He is shaking only slightly, but our nurses assured me that he is eating properly and is getting some sleep from what they can observe. Experiences periodic nightmares, wakes up crying and screaming, especially one name (Itachi. Older brother?). Will not speak of the death of his parents or his brother, but we have reason to believe that he spoke with him just before Itachi fled the village. Very quiet, does not speak much, refuses to answer man questions. _

Sakura bit her lip harder. Judging by the date of the notes, this was recorded only a few months after the Uchiha massacre. Sasuke couldn't have been more than eight years old. She flipped through a few more papers of his genin days, as well as when he was gone from the village, before stopping at the last of the notes at the bottom. Morino Ibiki's own writing was scrawling, lazy, as if he had had enough of writing. But never the less, Sakura read his notes. As well as the dialogue an assistant had taken of Sasuke's interrogations.

_This damned brat (_Sakura couldn't help but laugh at this, because Ibiki was truly his own boss) _refuses to speak much, and all that he seems to come out with is "clever" retorts. Blood tests are healthy, no signs of illness or disease, other than the strains from his visual prowess. Mental tests have been good so far, though he remains quiet and scowling a lot of the time. No mention of his past or his intentions. Spoke little of Orochimaru. Flinches still at the reference to his brother (Uchiha Itachi). Conversation skills are shit, but not completely abnormal. Overall, his recovery should run smoothly. _

Sakura smiled, eyes running down the dialogues below, set up by date. Her eyes held one on piece, and she blushed prettily.

_Morino I.: Got any friends?_

_Patient, Uchiha S.: A few. _

_Morino: Are they dear to you?_

_Patient: Yes._

_Morino: Wanna give me some names?_

_Patient: No._

_Morino: Sorry, kid, didn't mean to phrase that as a question. I meant, give me their names._

_Patient: Hn._

_Morino.: Well?_

_Patient: Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto... and Haruno Sakura. _

Sakura smiled to herself. Especially at the last part.

Whether his pause there had been deliberate or not, it definitely meant something, she was certain.

She spent the rest of her shift in the research room, gathering up her notes to take home, as well as reading through more of the Uchiha's folder. One thing was for sure, she would make sure with every fiber in her being that Sasuke would not end up in this folder for any further psychological notes. In fact, she planned to make sure _no Uchiha _would ever have to end up in the folder for mental illnesses. It was a large goal for her to attempt to reach, but she knew that with just a bit of love and the right bonds, she could do it. _They _could do it.

When she arrived home, arms full of notes and books, she found Sasuke stretched out on the couch, breathing light from sleep. Itachi was snuggled under a blanket on his stomach, asleep too. Sakura snuck into her office, dumped her books down and crept back into the living room to take in the sight before her, eyes brimming with tears. Her heart fluttered, and she felt the deja vu of when Sasuke babysat Ino and Shikamaru's son, Shin. She bit back a large smile and knelt down by the couch, watching her two favorite boys.

Sasuke's head was angled slightly towards her, lips parted in a very light snore. One arm was curled around Itachi, and the other was thrown over the arm of the couch by his messy raven locks.

As much as she wanted to just stay there and watch her husband and son peacefully slumber like two innocent beings, she knew she had to start dinner. With a silent sigh, she stood up and tiptoed into the kitchen, shutting the door behind her so she didn't wake them up.

As her role as the Uchiha matriarch, she planned to keep the clan out of darkness. And she would keep her promise this time.

"Well,", she murmured to herself in a small smile, deep in thought.

"Being Uchiha Sakura isn't all it's cracked up to be."

* * *

_end_

* * *

**A/N: **_Okay yay! Hope you enjoyed his story, I know I did. Sorry it was crappy towards the end, I was pulling things out of my ass to be honest. My brain is so scattered that it's really hard to get back into the mood of this piece. Well at least it's finished. Thank you to all of those who stuck with this story all the way through, as well as those who picked it up midchapter(s). Hopefully people will continue to enjoy it in the future. _

_I will also be updating my other stories very soon, and try to work on others, but right now, I'm tryna fix my brain. LOL. Anyways thanks guys!_


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